


Memory

by rainbowthefox



Category: FNAF, Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: 5 nights at freddy's, Fanfic, Fanfiction, Five Nights at Freddy's - Freeform, Gen, fnaf - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-06-07 17:37:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6817330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowthefox/pseuds/rainbowthefox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria is known for its animatronic band. They perform on stage, walk, and talk. They're nothing special, really. After all, they're just robots. Programmed on what to say and do. It's not like they'll think for themselves anytime soon...Right? (A FNAF fic.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Thursdays always brought a lot of activity and audiences for FreddyFazbear's Pizzeria. It's not that all the other days meant the place was quiet, because it always had multiple parties taking place day-to-day, but Thursdays were the days that focused on the animatronic band that starred at the place. The animatronic band consisted of a bunny, a bear, and a chicken. The bunny was named Bonnie, the chicken was named Chica, and the bear was named Freddy.

The animatronic band always made clicking sounds with each and every move they took, and how they moved their mouths weren't very convincing that they matched up with the songs very well at all. But the reason they got the spotlight was because Freddy took the part as the lead singer, and was the mascot of the whole pizzeria in the first place. The kids enjoyed the shows and most of them would stop and watch. Others would be too busy in Pirate's cove or chowing down on the pizza to take notice.

The year was 1985. At least 2 years before the 'Bite of '87' took place. Since it was a couple years before the incident, the animatronics were free to roam around the pizzeria and sing to any kid they came across or to have pictures taken with them. They seemed friendly enough to the children, but many adults were very hesitant with the robots and some forbid their children to approach them, due to how freely available they were to access all areas and individuals inside the pizza restaurant.

None of the employees seemed to monitor the animatronics at all, either, which was another reason the adults remained cautious around them. The only time an employee would be by their side is if one of the animatronics had a break down and they released them after repairs, and would walk around, monitoring their state for a few minutes before going back and doing whatever the heck they had been doing before.

It's not like the animatronics did anything dangerous, though. The only thing that caused a panic attack before the 'Bite of '87' was when Bonnie managed to step off the wrong part of the stage, and almost landed on a child if it weren't for their father to pull them aside just in time. And the animatronics were bigger than most of the adults, and it would've caused a significant amount of harm to the child if Bonnie had managed to land on them.

The owner of the restaurant never saw a problem with their size or programming to walk around and interact with their audience members. Many adults filed complaints about it, only for the concern of their children, but it would often be dismissed, claiming that they were programmed to not harm anyone at all. Not even the adults.

Little did they know that one of the animatronics malfunctioned on their programmed order, which was the cause of the 'Bite of '87' in the first place. But, before such an incident occurred, none of the animatronics malfunctioned with their programmed orders. Maybe a couple of times where they were supposed to sing a song, but ended up not opening their jaw to sing along to it, due to a sudden error in a programming code, which made them restricted from singing along. This concerned children more than the parents, due to them enjoying the songs and not caring about their size or concerned of them roaming around.

Pirate's Cove wasn't the main attraction of the pizzeria, since the original band was, but many children managed to stop by there at least once in their lifetime when they visited. Pirate's Cove mainly consisted of a fox pirate on a small stage where he would sing a few songs of his own and go on "adventures" with his audiences, in which he would narrate of their exploration travels. Many children adored the fox because he had more interaction with the audience than Freddy's band, but this certain pirate animatronic caused more concerns than of the band roaming around.

Foxy, the pirate animatronic, was free to leave and go on the stage as he pleased. It was in his programming as well. The only thing that made him different from the other animatronics was his sharp teeth that he was built with. Many parents questioned this of the animatronic, and sent in many complaints to the owner of the restaurant. The pizzeria was supposed to be a "family-friendly" environment, and having a roaming animatronic with sharp teeth interacting with children wasn't exactly "safe".

Foxy's case was dismissed the most rather than the band's issues. The owner of the restaurant often set aside the complaints claiming that he was a new addition to the restaurant, and was guaranteed to be safer than of the old animatronics.

Many adults were very cautious around this, though, because Foxy's movements weren't exactly "perfect". His jaw sometimes fell off during shows, scaring the children, and, sometimes, he would move a bit faster than his normal pace. A lot quicker than Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica could ever do. A parent, on occasion, would state that he'd see Foxy sprint at times from stage-and-off or from child-to-child.

Foxy wouldn't leave Pirate's Cove a lot. He'd normally stay and interact with any child there and would sing songs and narrate a new plotline to a new adventure he was programmed to show. But, whenever he did roam around past the area, Foxy would, sometimes, interact with Freddy and his band. The animatronics didn't speak to each other, but would look and blink and sometimes gesture to children. At one point, Freddy had gestured Foxy to a 6-year-old birthday star, and Foxy would approach the child and wish her a 'Happy Birthday', as well get into a conversation with the lass.

Nothing of it was suspicious, rather than the child's mother claiming that Foxy had been getting a bit "too close" to her daughter for her own taste. But the animatronics were programmed to get familiar with children and being as friendly as they could, and that would include closeness to the child, but none of the animatronics touched their audience members, only if it were to place their hand behind their back for a picture or to see a drawing the child had made of them.

The pizzeria didn't have much, besides the band, pizza, and the interaction of the animatronics between the children taking place. It still had some safety left to it, having multiple cameras in the building and having a security guard monitor the children and animatronics. The adults were still weary of them because the security guards that worked there rarely ever left their post. It was mainly because not a lot of crime or suspicious activity took place as people would think, nor any suspicions rose as much from them as the parents.

The year was 1985, and it was, indeed, Thursday. The pizzeria was filled with many children and took up as many seats as possible as well as tables. Some children had to sit at the playground and get high enough so they'd be able to watch the animatronic band afar. Many lights and sounds came from the band, and children were cheering as they ate their pizza, eyes fixated on the animatronics.

Pirate's Cove was less active, with only a handful of two audiences watching as Foxy was narrating an adventure he was currently having with the children in front of him. He couldn't run any songs, due to the band in the other room being a hit and making a lot of noise as it is, so the speakers were turned up a bit to channel out Freddy's song he was singing.

Foxy creaked a bit as he walked on the other side of the stage, taking another look at the audience. The children watched him attentively, wondering what the next "adventure" Foxy had in store for them.

His metallic jaw moved as he said, "Ahoy there, maties! How are ye' doin' today?"

The children replied with a, "Good!"

Foxy turned his head so he looked back at the stage. He looked back at the audience before standing up straight, feeling his programming making him do his introduction once more.

"I be Foxy, the main star of this here show today! We be goin' on a thrillin' adventure t wherever ye' hearts' desires. Now, tell me, where do ya' lads and lasses be hoping ta' be this time?"

He then tilted his head at the audience, awaiting for his response. To his surprise, no one said anything as they all watched him. Sensing the sudden silence, he then readjusted his head with a slight click as he looked at of them, placing his fingered hand on his metal hip.

"Well, that be soundin' like no fun, it sounds! Do any of ye' have any excitin' settins' for a great adventure we be havin' this afternoon?"

Some children in the audience nervously readjusted themselves on the floor, giving the others hesitant looks. Foxy's signals picked up on this as uncertainty, thus resulting in silence. He walked to the edge of the stage as he then pointed at a child, making everyone turn their heads to them.

"Ye' there! In the pink shirt!"

The child looked up at him, and pointed as herself as she asked, "Me?"

"Yes, lass. What be yer' name?"

The child blinked, a bit uncertain. She stuttered, "M-Mary."

"Mary," Foxy repeated, blinking. He took a step back as he said, "Well, Mary, do ye' have any ideas as ta' where we be goin' today?"

She paused, thinking. After a few moments, she replied in an uncertain tone, "The jungle?"

"The jungle?" Foxy repeated, looking to the others. "Well, what do ye' all say to the jungle?"

"I want to go to the seven seas!" A child exclaimed as they suddenly stood up, raising their plastic sword in the air.

"The seven seas? Why, that be soundin' excitin', it does!" Foxy said as he gave emotion to his dialogue as he gave an encouraging swing of his arm.

He then turned to the rest of the audience as he said, "Well, lucky for ye' all, I have just the excitin' adventure for all of ye' to be takin' place in t' seven seas, I have! Sorry, Mary, but maybe we'll do an excitin' adventure t' the jungle tomorrow?"

Mary nodded her head. "Okay!"

Foxy nodded as he then walked a bit on the stage. "Great! Now, what will ye' bring on this here adventure to the Seven Seas?"

"I'm going to bring a sword to battle off skeletal pirates!" The same boy with the plastic sword exclaimed as he waved the sword around.

"Great idea, lad!" Foxy praised.

"I'm going to bring my magical fairy wand to summon spells so we can fight off a squid!" A girl commented with her birthday wand.

"Squids, of course! Great idea, lass!" Foxy also praised.

"I'm going to bring a document that serves as a peace treaty so we can bring lands together to embrace cultures and help prevent the downfall of the economy by sudden wars and conflict!"

Everyone in the room blinked as they looked at the owner of the voice, to see a 13-14 year old sitting in the back of the audience.

She blinked as she asked, "What?"

"Well, where we be goin', we won't need any peace treaties, we won't," Foxy commented as he walked on the stage, ignoring the fact that an older child was in the audience. "Because we be fightin' for treasure! And this 'ere treasure isn't like any other treasure you be seein' or hearin' of, because this treasure is a box of Chica's pizza! How many of ye' enjoy the lass' pizza?"

Many people in the audience raised their hands, eyes lighting up with excitement at the mention of pizza. Adults were now looking up from the tables at a Foxy, a bit suspicious.

"Aye, because I be enjoyin' her pizza as well, I be!" Foxy commented, eyes focusing on his audience rather than the parents watching him. "Well, if you manage to solve this 'ere puzzle I be bringing up, then I'll give ye' a coupon that will give yer' parents 30% off a slice of pizza, I be! And when yer' parents be buying that there pizza, you'll get another one fer free! How many of ye' want two pizzas?"

Almost everyone in the audience raised their hands, immediately interested in this "puzzle". The adults were now paying much more attention to the fox, eyes glued on the animatronic.

"Do you really have that coupon?" A kid asked, crossing his arms. All the other children looked up at the animatronic, interested in the answer.

"Of course I do! 'Ol Foxy wouldn't lie to ye', would he?" Foxy asked, eyes glued to the kid.

"Then prove it," He responded, still stubborn.

Foxy made a few clicking noises as he then walked behind the curtains. He then came out with a slip of paper clutched in his metal hands, which looked as if it would crumble if he held it any tighter. He then held it out for the audience to observe, and they all looked at it with interest.

"'Ol Foxy can't be givin' it to any of ye', because this 'ere coupon be the prize. And only the winner will get this 'ere prize," Foxy said as he tossed the coupon aside, making sure it was out of the children's reach.

The music in the other room suddenly went quiet, and everyone's heads jerked to it. Even Foxy's, who was programmed to not get distracted. This meant that Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie were finished with their song, and all the children heard a bunch of cheering and clapping. They then turned back to Foxy, who stood still. The bot twitched a bit before suddenly turning to go behind the stage.

Everything went quiet for a few minutes. A few minutes turned into several, and everything was silent, since Foxy had not returned. The children now sat up, trying to get a good view behind the curtain. The adults walked over to the scene, trying to see what was happening with the animatronic.

\--

The security guard leaned back in his seat as he crossed his legs on the table in front of him, watching the camera footage from the monitor. He blinked as he studied the rooms. It appeared that Freddy's band was finished playing their songs, and many children had gone off to the playground to pass time. Many other children were approaching the animatronics to speak to them, and he felt his stomach turn.

He was never too fond of those robots.

His eyes darted towards the other rooms, which seemed completely fine. It was then he stumbled upon Pirate's Cove to notice all the children trying to look backstage with the adults having to hold their children back. He blinked.

Where was Foxy?

He cleared his throat before speaking on the radio, giving the others a notice that he would check backstage of Pirate's Cove and leaving the cameras unattended for awhile. He got a few responses as he stepped out of the room, making his way towards Pirate's Cove.

\--

When he made his way to Pirate's Cove, he saw the adults still trying to hold them back. A children was crying to their mother, managing to spit out the words: "Foxy" "Prize" and "Pizza".

Huh.

He then made his way on the stage as he walked behind the curtains, making sure to turn his flashlight on. The lights backstage haven't been working very well, so it had been very dark. Foxy must've not had a difficult time, since he had night vision installed, as with the other animatronics.

He shined it in various directions until he managed to get a clear sight of Foxy. The animatronic was on the ground, twitching as a few buzzing sounds came out from him. His jaw fell off and was a few feet away from him, and his metal hand was extended outwards, as if he had been trying to reach for it.

The security guard had then spoke into the radio, claiming that Foxy had broken down. He got a response that one of the mechanics were on their way, and the security guard still kept his flashlight on Foxy, eyes fixated on his metal figure.

Whenever these things broke down, they acted strange. And not as strange as they were on their night-programmed mode, but strange strange. As if they tried to fix themselves and were trying to handle their broken down self by themselves. It almost scared him, honestly. At how they were trying to repair themselves and be capable to run their own bodies.

That'd be too dangerous. They needed to rely on someone else, otherwise they'd start to develop solutions of their own. And he didn't really want to imagine what would happen afterwards.

Foxy's body had suddenly jolted upwards, making the security guard jump as he took a step back. Foxy was now laying down on his metal back, and the security guard could now get a more clear look of the animatronic's face. It looked a lot more creepier without his lower jaw. The guard shook it off as he kept his flashlight on the robot, watching him attentively.

\--

It turned out that Foxy had a programming error, which would explain why he had gotten distracted at the music in the background stopping. Since of the error, his mechanical body could not control its movements, due to his attention being interrupted, therefore not being able to return it back to give his wires signals to move correctly. This made him walk anywhere he had turned at the last moment, and he could not stop himself from doing so.

It turned out that he ended up hitting the wall backstage, and his jaw had popped off of its metal hinges because it slammed into the hard surface, which explained the dent that came with it. It also knocked off a few teeth off, and, instead of replacing it with proper, dull teeth, they replaced it with sharp, golden ones. They figured it'd help give him more of a "Pirate-y" look.

Foxy was released half an hour later, after he managed to be functioning properly. When he had walked out of a room in the farther end of the building, he was accompanied by one of the employees that held a clipboard and pencil, taking notes on the animatronic's state and responses.

Foxy blinked as they continued waking down the hallway. He commented, "Well, that wall hurt 'Ol Foxie, it did."

The employee arched an eyebrow. Normally the animatronics wouldn't remember any new information stored before they broke down. If they did, they were just small bits and weren't significant. They took a note on Foxy remembering the cause of his damage, and made sure to underline it.

Foxy didn't say anything else as they finally returned to the room where Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were in. The kids spotted Foxy, and some had immediately came running to him. The employee made sure that they didn't run all at once to catch the robot off guard.

"Foxy! Foxy!" One little girl said as she approached the robot with a wide smile.

"Ahoy there, lass! What ye' be needin'?" Foxy asked, looking down at the child.

"What about that puzzle you were telling us about? About getting that coupon for our parents?" She asked, giving him a concerned look.

"Ol' Foxy doesn't remember anythin' 'bout a puzzle, lass. Maybe Freddy told ye' about it?" Foxy said, tilting his head.

"What? No fair! You said you had a puzzle for us and that we can go on an adventure and if whoever solves the puzzle gets the free pizza!" A kid commented as he brushed past the crowd.

"I did?" Foxy tilted his head. "All Ol' Foxy can remember is hittin' a wall pretty badly, he can. And, boy, did it hurt!"

A little girl gasped as she then ran up to him. She asked, "Can you still remember me, Foxy? Can you?"

Foxy immediately went silent as he stared at the child. The employee watched him with an attentive look, as with many other children.

Foxy finally guessed, "Are ye' Mary? The lass that asked for an adventure in that jungle?"

"Yes! I'm Mary!" The little girl clapped her hands. The employee took another note, but none of the children noticed it. Mary then ran over to a nearby table and ran back to the animatronic with a piece of paper in her hands. She blushed a bit before stepping in front of him.

"While you were gone, I drew you a picture! It was me and you having an adventure in the Seven Seas! Don't you remember that?"

She then handed the paper to Foxy, whom had grabbed it carefully and took a moment to observe the paper. It took awhile for his unit to process it, but when he did, his hands made a clicking sound as he then gripped the paper.

"It looks lovely, lass! And ye' have a wonderful blue dress on, you do!"

She giggled as she held her hands behind her back. She said, "You can keep it. I made it just for you!"

Foxy handed the paper to the employee, who usually took all the pictures the children would draw. The animatronics often forget about the pictures, anyway, so they'd end up stuffing them in a drawer somewhere without being bothered about it.

Freddy walked over to the crowd and commented, "Hey, kids, Chica is going to tell you how to prepare a batch of her famous pizza! Who wants to come?"

Almost all of the kids ran past Freddy and to Chica, who was now surrounded by children as she stood nearby a table, as with an employee that would help the animatronic out by lecturing them. About 2-3 kids stayed with Foxy, and they looked at him, eager.

Freddy and Foxy made eye contact for a few seconds until Freddy walked off, leaving the employee with the animatronic and the few children.

Foxy commented, "Freddy sure enjoys stealin' the crowd, doesn't he?"

The employee started writing this down on the piece of paper. The animatronics BARELY interacted with each other as it is, but only tended to mention them during each of their performances. Never had they ever heard any of them commenting anything negative on each other.

"Foxy, can we go back to Pirate's Cove now and go on that adventure?" One of the children asked as they nearly bounced up and down in joy.

"Of course, maties! We be sailin' the Seven Seas battlin' squids and skeletal pirates, we be!" Foxy said as he then lead them at Pirate's Cove at a surprising pace. The employee had to jog a bit in order to catch up with them. She also managed to jot this down as her body moved, trying to make it seem as neat as possible.

\--

When the employee was done taking notes on Foxy, it had been around closing time. She stayed a bit longer because of the oddness of Foxy's behavior, and how many notes she managed to take during the whole thing. It was more to take down than they ever had on the fox pirate.

The rest of the mechanics studied her notes and claimed that Foxy's memory had dramatically increased just after his breakdown, and they weren't sure as to why. And it seemed that, because of this increase of memory, he had more space that would be stored as to slight analyzing of his surroundings and of other people. It shouldn't be often, because of his programming focusing on his main purpose on stage, but it seemed that Foxy had been using this extra space to observe Freddy and actually manage to develop his own opinion on his actions and state of being.

The security guard caught onto the information, and scoffed at the memory of it as he then switched the animatronics off. There was no way on Earth these robots could develop a mind of their own! It was IMPOSSIBLE! They couldn't even predict when they would be shut off or turned on. So HOW would they manage to process any information about others when they couldn't of themselves?

He quietly hummed a tune as he made his way at Pirate's Cove, to see Foxy standing on stage as he stared out of a window, watching as some cars drove by down the street. His head clicked as he detected the sound of the night security guard making his way at the animatronic.

Foxy didn't say anything as the guard went onto stage and turned the robot around. It was before he could switch him off that he asked:

"Before ye' shut me down for ta' night, may I see Mary's drawing of our adventure at that jungle?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mechanics discuss Foxy's breakdown, and start to question on the animatronic's abilities to become more humane. While everyone contemplates it, Foxy meets a certain child left alone by his parents, and cheers him up.

That next day, the security guard had been talking with the mechanics about Foxy's statement from last night. Not only did it scare him deeply, but his mind on the animatronics becoming self aware had definitely been changed since then. He may be overthinking it, since Foxy could've just blurted out anything, since the robots tend to become more inactive later in the day, but it still scared him.

The mechanics denied that Foxy would say such a thing, and had brushed this off. The security guard tried to get them to listen, but that only resulted in them walking off, whispering something about him being a lunatic. And, as the security guard got back to post and sat in his chair, he stared at the table for more than half of his shift.

Maybe he WAS a little crazy. After all, being in a kid's pizzeria does make your whole attitude and mood change, which would result in some....sanity being left out. Maybe he just IMAGINED Foxy saying that.

Smirking, he went back to the monitors. Yeah. It was all in his imagination.

\--

It had been a few months after Foxy's supposed "self-aware sentence". Many of the employees still got onto the security guard's case, and they all had joked it about since then. Even though he brushed all of their remarks at the time, he was unaware of one of the other employees actually considering if Foxy was becoming a bit self-aware. If he was, then they'd end up using another model in hopes to not have any of the animatronics thinking for themselves.

This employee had approached Foxy during work hours and had, despite her will not to look childish or silly at the time, asked Foxy if he really said what the security guard had claim. Much to her relief, the animatronic simply responded, "I don't recall statin' such a thing, lass. Maybe the lad's got some scurvy?"

Needless to say, she ended up leaving an orange on his desk later that night. Just for Foxy's sake, anyway.

Besides the light joking of the employees to the poor guard, the restaurant had actually been doing well. They managed to air a successful commercial promoting the restaurant, and had ended up getting more customers since then. The band was a hit, and Pirate Cove was getting new additions added on.

More decorations were lined and painted on the walls in Pirate Cove so it'd give you a more "pirate"-like atmosphere. Waves and boats with islands were painted on the walls, and, heck, even the artist agreed to paint Foxy sailing one of the ships! Foxy's stage had decorations on the back wall so it'd look like Foxy was standing on an island as he did his shows with his audiences. He even had a few more parts added onto him so he was able to sit down, which was added so he could sit on a wooden box as he'd talk about some of his past "adventures" to the children.

The band got plenty of more decorations, too. New speakers were added so the music would have more quality, sound-wise, and the stage had gotten some extra decorations in the back. New tables were added for more guests that weren't attending any parties, and the playground had even gotten more additions.

Needless to say, everything was going so well. Besides the pricing being a bit higher than usual(which you can thank the boss for), everyone still enjoyed their stay and some were recommending for parties to be attended there. This still didn't raise the suspicions of the animatronics walking around for the parents, though.

It didn't matter, so long as the money was still coming in. At least that's what the owner had claimed at the time. Even though the employees were doing it for the money as well, seeing the children so happy was a boost for everyone. Even the animatronics, whom were starting to observe their surroundings more.

It was another typical day at the pizzeria. A lot more activities were going on, since of the new decorations and additions to the playground, which would give the children more to observe and explore. Their eyes lit up at everything in their sight, and it was surely one of the best days of their lives. You could tell.

The animatronics were walking around, like usual. There were about 3 parties going on that day, so it was quite busy. Balloons, cakes, and kids with party hats were spotted everywhere. The Birthday boy/girl would be a wearing a crown, with the females receiving a birthday wand as the males received a toy truck. Typical.

Foxy was walking around, observing some of the new decorations himself. Many would think that the bot was in sleep mode or something, due to how long he had been standing and staring at the art on the walls. But then he'd move, which would dismiss their concerns.

Foxy walked over to the stage, observing some of the decorations added to the lower part of it. What caught his sight, instead, was a child sitting at a bench in the corner, resting his elbow on the table as he looked at the ground. He looked...sad, to say at the least.

Foxy, by natural instinct, then walked over to the child. As soon as he reached them, he then paused, which was rare among the animatronics. They usually knew what to say to children, but Foxy showing hesitation revealed that his signals were a bit slower.

It didn't matter, anyway, because the child glanced over at him, and ended up jumping. He nearly slipped off the table, but caught himself as his eyes widened, looking at the animatronic.

Foxy asked, "How are ye' doin', Lad?"

The child blinked, not giving him a response. He looked surprised, which was a response itself, really.

Foxy ignored this as he observed the kid. After seeing his attire, the animatronic commented, "I see yer' carryin' a toy truck, lad. Just guessin' 'ere, but is it yer' special day t'day?"

The child looked at the toy truck that was visible in his jacket pocket. He looked to the floor as he said, "Yeah. It is."

Foxy looked up from the kid and to the rest of the table. Everything was empty, despite some party hats laying on them, awaiting for the other guests to put on. Some balloons were put, too, but the only thing in sight on the table that was used was the kid's plate, which had some unfinished cake lying on it.

Foxy looked back at the kid as he asked, "Where are yer' friends?"

The kid gave him a look. "What friends?"

Oh, boy.

"'Ye don't have any friends? That'd be the most surprisin' thing ol' Foxy has heard all day, it is."

"Just go away. What would a stupid animatronic like you care, anyway?" The kid asked as he went back to sulking on the table.

Foxy blinked. That last statement kind of....hurt.

"'Ol Foxy cares because it should be a happy day, Lad. With no one ta' wish ye' a Happy Birthday or spend time with ye' must make ye' a sad lad, eh?"

The child ignored him, picking at his cake. Foxy didn't say anything, but continued to watch the kid. This must've made them annoyed, since the child stopped picking at their plate to give the animatronic an annoyed look.

"Why are you still here? Don't you have that pirate place to run?"

Foxy waved it off. "Pirate Cove won't be needin' me 'til show time. But, in the meantime, it seems that ye' be needin' some company, don't ye?"

The child didn't respond but looked to the ground again. Foxy wanted to sigh, but was unable to, since he had no air to release. This made the animatronic a bit frustrated, but unaffected on the outside.

He asked, "What be yer' name, Lad?"

The child sighed, shaking his head. He responded, "Mike. Mike Schmidt."

"Well, Mike....Where be yer' parents? Surely they'd be 'ere to wish ye' a Happy Birthday. After all, that's why they brought ye' 'ere, right?"

Mike heavily sighed. He turned so he was able to face the animatronic better. He said, "My Dad brought me here, but left as soon as we got the table. He said he had better things to do..."

Foxy blinked as he titled his head, concerned for the child. He asked, "Where be yer' mother, then?"

"She's at work. She's the one that suggested this place to make me happy, but none of my friends showed up to the party. Figures, since I'm not really liked, anyway."

"Well, I like ye', Lad! I'm sure Freddy, Chica, n' Bonnie care for ye', too!"

"You guys are just animatronics. Like you guys can replace my friends," Mike rolled his eyes.

"We wouldn't dare to replace yer' friends, we wouldn't! We'd want to be yer' new friends. Except, unlike ye' other friends, we sing and talk to ye' all you'd like! Unlike them, we'd be there at yer' parties n' keep ye' company!"

Mike blinked, staring at the animatronic. The end of his mouth twitched a bit, but he looked back to the table without a word.

He said, "My parents are going through a divorce."

Foxy leaned down so he was able to see eye-to-eye with the kid. He had this talk with plenty of other children before.

Mike continued, "Dad doesn't come home because he doesn't want to be close to Mom, nor does she to him....And they argue a lot, and it scares me, sometimes. Because my Dad is an alcoholic, so he sometimes...gets out of hand. It scares Mom, too, and she'd up yelling at him to get out, and he'd leave, bumping into some stuff and tearing some of our family photos off from the walls. I just wanted to come here because it's the only place I can be alone."

"Ye' sure bein' alone is what ye' want, lad?"

Mike looked up at the animatronic, as if considering his words. His expression didn't change as he said, "No. It's not, actually."

"Then what would be, if ye' don't mind me askin'?"

"I guess....I just come here because it was the only times my mom and dad would get along. And just being here and reminiscing about it really....makes me remember the good times. I'm afraid that, if my parents get divorced, we'll never have the same experience."

Foxy glanced up, to see Freddy far across the room eying them. He looked concerned. At least that's what Foxy's signals picked up. Foxy was hoping he wouldn't he wouldn't come over, because Freddy always managed to have the attention thrown to him. It was the only thing he disliked about the bear.

He looked back to the child, who looked confused.

"Well, lad, if bein' here makes ye' feel any better, then just know that we be glad to have ye' around to be feelin' better, despite yer' parents' struggles. I think that, deep down, your father loves ye', but alcohol really takes up a man. 'Ol Foxy would know."

Mike's eyes widened as he asked, "You think?"

"I don't think, lad. I know. Back in me swashbucklin' days, I remember drinking a lot of me rum as I sailed the seas. I didn't have me a family, but only the love of sailin' and of me boat n' crew. I once loved a lassie, but me rum got in the way of winnin' her heart. And it'll do that to yer' loved ones, too."

Mike blinked, amazed. He said, "Wow. You guys....are pretty emotional for animatronics."

"Just because ye' be made of metal doesn't mean ye' don't have any emotions."

Before Mike could say anything, Freddy had suddenly came out of nowhere and took off his top hat as he bowed to him.

"Hi there! I'm Freddy Fazbear! I couldn't happen but notice that you have been talking to my friend over here."

He motioned towards Foxy, who looked a bit ticked off. Well, as ticked off as an animatronic could look.

Freddy ignored this as he put his top hat back on as he straightened his position. He continued, "I sure hope everything's going fine today. You having a good time?"

Mike looked to the ground as he said, "You can say that..."

"Freddy," Foxy glared at the animatronic(as best as he could.) "I think ye'd best be goin' back to yer' stage to perform. Aren't ye' supposed to be singin' by now?"

"Oh, it couldn't hurt to be a little bit late. After all, Bonnie's the one that's worked up about the schedule. Not me."

Mike blinked in amazement, seeing the two interact with each other. This was just...wow.

Freddy turned back to Mike, whom had been staring. He said, "It seems like you have a Birthday today, pal! Mind if Bonnie, Chica, and I sing to you?"

"Uh....no, I'm good," Mike gulped, still looking at Freddy in amazement. Foxy shook his metal head before going to walk back to Pirate Cove. Before he could, though, he heard Mike call out:

"Wait!"

Foxy turned, to see Mike extending his arm outwards for the animatronic. He hesitated before pulling it back and looked to the ground, uncertain on what to say. He managed to gather his words as he said, "Thanks..."

Foxy paused. He responded, "No problem, lad! I wish ye' and yer' parents well!"

With that, he continued his way to Pirate Cove, not bothering to see Freddy's reaction to his last statement.

\--

Mike ended up attending Foxy's show later on that day, and the robotic fox made sure to acknowledge his presence and even managed to call on him and ask a question, just like he normally did to interact with his audience. Mike had a smile placed on his face, and he didn't leave Pirate Cove for the rest of the day. Not even to acknowledge the band's presence, which was what, technically, all the other children did with each visit.

When he did leave, though, he confronted Foxy. He didn't say anything, but gave the animatronic fox a...hug. Foxy had received hugs before in the past, mind you, but, for some reason it felt...different. Foxy made sure to tell him goodbye, wish him a happy birthday, and reminded him to be happy, no matter what conflict may rise between his parents.

Foxy never usually was the one to cheer kids up. They'd normally go to Freddy, who seemed to be a natural at making them smile. Everyone presumed it was because Freddy was the main animatronic out of them all, and the one that had the most popularity. Foxy was a pirate, and some children didn't see pirates being the comforting type. They'd see them more as the 'chugging down on rum as they spit out any words they can to make out a story' type.

Luckily, Foxy was just never one of those people-Erm, animatronics. Still, their assumptions never went down.

Foxy's slight conflict with Freddy had already been spotted, and the security guard was actually taking a closer look at the monitors whenever both of them had been interacting with each other. He could hear their conversations, due to the audio, but the way they did not touch or even look at each other sometimes made it difficult to see if any struggles were developing between the two.

Of course, that'd be an example of the animatronics starting to develop emotions. Negative feelings and thoughts were apart of emotions, itself, so the security guard figured it was just an emotional stage developing, in a way. But wouldn't that lead to self-awareness, figuring that they were robot-like creatures?

He spoke to the mechanics, who, by a miracle, listened to him. It was already hard enough trying to gain their serious attention with them laughing at his thoughts of the animatronics becoming self-aware, but as soon as the word "emotions" came up, they gave him their full attention.

A small amount of mechanics denied that they were developing emotions, but a larger amount claimed that they agreed. But that was rather peachy, figuring that they didn't have anything to store any emotions or thoughts inside of them that wouldn't be on themselves. Well, minus the emotions part, which would be more of the caused made by other people that affected them.

They took another look at it, and it seemed that Foxy's development of more space to use analyzing on other people, which would process into thoughts. They figured that, by then, emotions would develop, if Foxy could manage to make a new set of space for such. But if it were all by himself, then that'd definitely prove some sophistication was seen in the robot.

As for the others? Well, they assumed that Freddy was showing some slight self-awareness, but as for Bonnie and Chica...well, they were doing and thinking what they were supposed to. It seemed that they were far behind if all this 'self awareness' was just part of their process of aging.

But how could THAT be, if Foxy was showing more self-awareness, and he was the newest of them all?

They figured it was because he didn't include such old parts and such like the other ones have, but they weren't entirely sure. No one wanted to overthink it, because it'd be a rather scary thought if the animatronics were to become sentient.

None of them could afford that.

\--

"Are you sure the pizzeria's open, Freddy? It sure doesn't look like it..." Chica commented as she looked around the empty pizzeria from on stage. Freddy glanced up at her from below. He was too busy trying to arrange the tables the way he wanted to, since the employee that had rearranged it clearly did not do the job right.

How on Earth an animatronic was able to move tables without using too much force was something no one comprehended.

"I'm sure, Chica. We just have to wait awhile. Who would want to miss an opportunity to come here?" He replied as he slightly pushed a seat, resulting in a faint clicking sound.

"Keep in mind that it's Monday," Bonnie commented as he placed his guitar to the side. "Which means the children are back in school. Summer's over."

"Really?" Chica asked, turning to him. "I thought it was still April."

"It's August, Chica," Freddy replied. "At least that's what I've been told."

"From who?"

"Jim."

"Oh. The janitor, right?"

"Yeah. How could you forget him?"

"I didn't. It's just...there's been more than one Jim working here before."

Bonnie shook his head at the two. The pizzeria had opened about an hour ago, but no one showed up. Rather than an adult that was asking for directions, whom had gotten answers from one of the chefs that was available at the time. Barely any employees were seen today. The animatronics figured that they were in the kitchen or in the far end of the building.

But it had been too quiet. They'd at least be doing some work if children weren't in the building. So why wouldn't they now? The opportunity was at its finest.

"You know, coming to think of it, it has been awhile by now," Freddy commented. "I wonder if Miranda accidently flipped the sign twice so it says closed. I'll go ask her."

"But she's at home. She's sick, remember?" Bonnie commented.

Freddy blinked, turning his head with a click. He asked, "Really?"

"Yeah. But, from my view, the sign is flipped so it says 'Open'. No mistake there." Bonnie said as he stepped off from the stage carefully. He was still cautious since accidently falling off the stage awhile ago.

"The younger children should at least be here, right? They don't have school," Chica said, appearing to be concerned.

"That's what I would think. Why isn't anyone here?" Bonnie asked, turning to Freddy. Chica did as well.

He gave them a look. "Why are you guys looking at me? I don't know why, either!"

"It's because a murder had taken place nearby here," A random employee commented as they entered the room, hands stuffed in their pockets. "Parents are saying that it isn't a good area, therefore resulting in no children. I think that, once it dies down, people will return, eventually."

"Murder? When did this happen?" Chica asked, turning to the employee. The employee glanced at her, not at all fazed.

"Last night around 8 P.M. Boss wanted me to read more into it for no apparent reason."

They then reached into their vest pocket and had grabbed a pack of cigarettes, walking out of the front doors. The animatronics glanced at each other.

"Bad neighborhood? Yeah right," Bonnie rolled his eyes. "Seeing people smoke in front of this place is probably what keeps the kiddos away."

"At least they have a no smoking policy inside," said Chica.

"That doesn't make matters any better. There's been a murder, and it keeps kids away from having fun. What if one of those happen here? Will they ever come back again?" Freddy asked.

"I wouldn't suggest thinkin' that," Foxy commented as he entered the room. "Yer' only askin' for it ta' happen. And, I don't know about ye' all, but I wouldn't want such a thing happenin'."

"You're right," Freddy said as he placed a metal hand on his head. "It'd be best to not think of the worst."

"-But to rather think of the best!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Imagine the children's smiles once they come back! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Yeah, until they leave. Then we're back where we started," Chica commented, frowning the best she could.

"Ye' shouldn't think of that, lass," Foxy commented as he tilted his head. "It be best to be rememberin' of the good times than of the bad ones, eh?"

"True," Bonnie nodded.

"Still," Chica shook her head as she fidgeted with her bib. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime? Stand around?"

"Good luck with that," Bonnie rolled his eyes. "They're probably going to make us do something. Isn't Fredrick on his shift?"

"Why would he be watching cameras if no one's here? I mean, it's not like we're going to go on a rampage." Chica rolled her eyes.

They all then turned their heads so they looked at the camera set in the corner of the room. Its light was on and was pointed towards them. They all glanced at each other.

"Well, at least Fredrick cares. That shows something," Freddy commented.

"No, it just means he doesn't trust us," Bonnie rolled his eyes. "I can't blame him, either. A lot of the parents don't like us and some of the employees don't, either."

"How do you know that?" Chica asked as she turned to him, resulting in a clicking sound.

"I know that the parents keep their children away from us just because we wander around. It's that obvious. And the employees keep talking about our states and debating whether or not to replace us....It's all I ever hear, and I'm sick of it."

"Bonnie, it'd be best to discuss something like this in a private matter, eh?" Freddy asked as he silently motioned over to the camera in the corner.

"Oh." Bonnie's eyes widened in realization. "Yeah, I suppose..."

"Too late, mate," Foxy commented. "They already be monitorin' us from Day 1, they be. An' I bet they already got that recorded, they do. Reportin' 'bout our interactin', for some reason."

"Oh, says you," Bonnie crossed his metal arms. "They've been eying you more than they've done to us lately. Either you're special or they're more cautious of you. So I'd watch my back if I were you, fox."

"The name's Foxy, not 'Fox' ye' no good-"

"Shut it," Freddy snapped. "Both of you. Stuff like this'll only get the humans to be even more suspicious."

"As if they weren't already before," Bonnie rolled his eyes.

"Come on, you two," Chica rolled her own eyes. "If there's a child outside and they see you two arguing, it might scare them off. We're supposed to be family friendly, remember?"

"Right," Freddy agreed.

"Sure, why not?" Bonnie looked to the floor as he shrugged. "Still, a situation like this needs advantage. There's no one here and what are we supposed to do? Perform to an empty audience? I think that'd give Mr. Fazbear a bit more shame than it already does."

"Shame? What shame? Isn't he happy? He DID give us new parts and decorations, and all.." Chica turned to him.

"I think Mr. Fazbear would be ashamed if he saw his pizzeria empty," Bonnie commented as he then sat on the edge of the stage, resulting in a faint clicking noise. "I know I'd be."

"But wouldn't he know of the murder? That's reasonable enough, right?" Chica asked, turning to her animatronic friends. Foxy shook his head.

"A lad like Fazbear wouldn't be thinkin' a murder would ruin anythin'. I'd bet the lad would continue to run things like normal, he would. Pretendin' nothing ever happened."

"And what makes you so sure?" Freddy asked, narrowing his eyes at the fox.

"The lad be in it for the money, he be. Isn't it obvious?" Foxy shrugged his metal arms. "I mean, Fazbear only added those there decorations because of the loot comin' in. He had enough money to do so before, but he never did, he didn't."

"Well...maybe he had other things to spend money on. Like pizza supplies," Chica pointed out hopefully. Bonnie scoffed.

"Pizza supplies? There's a million of them in the kitchen already. Like they'd need that."

"He was busy on trying to promote the pizzeria. It's more important than us," Freddy stated nonchalantly.

"Don't make me laugh," Bonnie looked up at the bear animatronic. "We're the ones the children come here for. I doubt they'd go all this way just to get a slice of pizza. They can get that anywhere."

"Yeah," Chica agreed. "They like us. Otherwise they wouldn't come at all."

"That'd be the last thing ye'd say before ye'd get put backstage, lass," Foxy commented as he stared at the playground. "'Ol Foxy heard somethin' 'bout games an' prizes bein' added. That sounds more interestin' than of watchin' an animatronic band play, doesn't it?"

"Games? Prizes? When did you hear of this?" Freddy asked, turning to him. Foxy stood silently, eying the camera in the corner. The others picked up on this as they stared at the camera.

"Oh, boy," Bonnie placed a metal hand on his forehead. "We said too much, didn't we?"

"Perhaps," Freddy nodded.

\--

The security guard sat in his chair, eyes widened and jaw opened. He had been reaching to take a bite of his pizza like...what? Half an hour ago? The animatronics speaking to each other certainly took him off guard, and he had forgotten about the pizza long ago.

Fredrick cleared his throat as he placed the pizza on his plate. He'd be certain to speak with the mechanics about this.

Perhaps they had said a bit too much.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mechanics and employees are really weary now. Some of them believe it's a good thing, and try to lighten the situation. They distract the bots by adding a new arcade with the profits, and the children are excited to try them out. The animatronics feel neglected.

The room fell silent as the clip that had been playing for half an hour had finished. A few awkward coughs and people repositioning themselves in their seats were heard as Fredrick shut off the TV, giving the employees across from him a hesitant smile. He still had chills from the clip. Perhaps they were experiencing it, too?

"Well, that was....interesting," Jane, one of the mechanics, commented. Some others nodded their heads in agreement. The rest looked too shocked to say anything or were still trying to process what had happened.

"I know," Fredrick responded as he sat in his seat. "I was quite surprised while it was happening, too."

"This....is just too much of a boost in this 'self aware' progress," One of the mechanics commented as her eyes widened, staring at the piece of paper she had been taking notes on. "It seems as if they are fully aware of what's happening around them."

"Does this mean that we're going to have to replace them?" One of the chefs asked, drumming his fingers on the table.

"Replace them!?" The manager asked as he gave him a look. "Are you mad, man!?"

"Uh...well, if I see more of this crap happening, yes!" He responded as he gave him a sarcastic look.

"I have to agree," One of the waiters added as he sighed. "I think I'll go mad by the end of the month if I see another one of those clips."

"Well, I vote on replacing them," One of the mechanics commented as she looked at the others. "I think fresh, new animatronics would be good for a change, yes?"

"Of course it would. I mean, we've had the same ones for so long now," One of the others agreed as he nodded his head. "And, besides, sentience was one of the things we listed to prevent from them developing. We simply can't have this continuing by their rate."

"We're not replacing them," The manager rolled his eyes. "The animatronics are the ones bringing in cash for the place. So much that we can make a fresh, new start with newer things."

"Like the 'games and prizes' Foxy mentioned?" Jane gave him a dull look.

"Yes. And more stuff if that becomes a hit."

"But, sir, I don't think keeping them would be a good idea," One of the mechanics commented. "If they continue to develop more self-awareness at the sudden increased rate they had gotten just now, they'll definitely improve on sophistication, in which they will certainly think for themselves and will, eventually, find no need in their caretakers."

"Then just program them to not do that. How simple is that?"

"Pretty simple....But, still, they can always malfunction, and some can result in a mere change that we cannot notice until the last second."

"For God's sake, Anne, just enter new stuff in their programming! Problem solved."

"Yeah, if it weren't for their space of analyzing and memory storage to increase even more after this," Another mechanic rolled their eyes. "They're already processing thoughts about us. I think that's a big hint right there."

"We're NOT getting rid of them, period."

"I like your intentions, sir," Jane commented with a smile. "Besides, this new storage they are naturally developing can actually be a positive thing."

"How so?" One of the chefs asked, giving her a look as if she were crazy.

"Well....thoughts are good for them because they can develop more emotion, which will dramatically increase with their social interaction, which is heavily needed among the children," Jane commented with a shrug. "The negative ones will help develop their character, in which they will gather likes and dislikes. If we program them to take their dislikes in a very light and formal way, then it wouldn't be such a big deal. And, if the band and Foxy interact more, maybe we can collide them on certain occasions where they can both interact with the audience? That'll be a hit!"

Everyone blinked.

"I didn't think of it that way," Anne commented as she placed a finger on her lip. "Very nice thinking. Besides the hard work that may come with it, it's actually got positive results. And, if they get situated with each other, it'll help ease their comfort, rather than looking stiff."

"They're supposed to look stiff," One of the chefs said. "They're animatronics. Not humans."

"I know. But we want the animatronics to appear real to the children. And what way is better than having them interact with each other and appear more friendly with new emotions added onto them? They're already interacting with the robots well. Perhaps they'll be more open-armed if they showed more acts of thinking and caring?"

"Please tell me you guys are joking," One of the waiters commented as his eyes widened. "How can you guys treat this as a positive thing? I've NEVER seen an animatronic walk off stage or talk directly to the children or do ANYTHING like these guys have! It's completely abnormal!"

"It's not abnormal," Jane grinned. "It's sophistication. This is our future!"

"If this is our future, I'd best die at this second," The guy shook his head. "It's not worth it."

"Oh, come on," The manager rolled his eyes. "Our animatronics are better than the ones at Chuck E. Cheese's. We're starting to get ahead of our competitor because of them."

"Yeah. I doubt Mr. Fazbear will ever want them to be removed, anyway," One of the waitresses shrugged.

"Still....They noticed you guys debating to replace them. Wouldn't that end in jealousy and anger? Those are dangerous emotions. Bonnie was showing a lot of it in there," A waiter commented as he gave the mechanics worried looks.

Anne shrugged. "They'll, eventually, realize that we won't replace them. If we show more positive emotions around them, perhaps they'll show more around us?"

"Maybe," Jane commented.

"So...we're going to let this happen?" Another waiter asked, giving them all hesitant looks.

"Pretty much," One of the male mechanics shrugged. The waiter, in response, slumped in his seat.

"I think it'd be best if we took notes on their interaction they'll show when we're there," Jane commented as she grabbed her clipboard. "Only after we add some things into their programming, of course."

"Brilliant idea, Jane," The manager gave her a smile. "Just be sure that they won't do anything negative to anyone."

"I'll make sure, sir," Jane nodded, making some notes on their clipboard.

After several minutes of discussing what they were planning to do, the meeting was then dismissed, letting the employees return back home. The animatronics remained silent for the night, already knowing they said more than they needed to. The employees didn't say one word to them, but were already either uneasy or excited about what they planned.

What they didn't know was what was bound to happen. But that can wait.

\--

It took about a day or two before the mechanics managed to make some changes to the animatronics with their programming. The pizzeria had been closed during this, seeing no use to run it without the main stars, nevertheless without any activities planned. But, as soon as it re-opened, children were met with an amazing sight.

The pizzeria now included games. They were the same as any typical pizzeria, really. Enter token, play it, retrieve your tickets, and get your prize. They made sure to choose a large variety of games, just so the children had much to choose from. And, because of the increase in profits, there were more than plenty of games the children had opportunities to play.

As soon as the pizzeria opened, everyone took in the sight. Blinking lights and various noises emanated from the different machines, and most of the children's jaws fell. The employees took this as an opportunity to introduce the new additions.

"Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, and I am so glad to have you with us today. My name is Nick, and I'll explain what's going on," Nick chuckled as he stepped in front of the large crowd, as with other employees by his side.

He took a breath before saying, "I'm sure all you of guys have noticed the new additions by now, and that's the purpose of them. These are games we added so you kiddos have more to play around with! Plus, when you get a certain amount of tickets, you win a prize. They can be BIG, or very small."

He used some hand gestures, which got a female employee to snicker at.

He ignored this as he continued, "You need to have tokens to play these, though. They don't cost much, and look very shiny, too! Parents, you can see the price of them on the board over there, as well as the guidelines to this stuff."

He motioned over to a large board placed on the wall to their right. The adults' heads turned to observe it while the children were too busy gawking at the games. Nick then stepped to the side, as with the other employees.

"Have fun!"

With that, the children then ran up to their parents, begging for some tokens. Some children immediately ran into the area to observe the games, jaws dropping in amazement. With all the sounds coming from games and all the chatter going on in the pizzeria, it seemed that everything was bursting with activity.

Very few children ran to Freddy's band to watch or interact with them. Others were too busy setting their things at tables and waiting in line to gather some tokens. The animatronic band made sure to greet the children and help promote the games, but still were bringing the attention to them.

No one came to Pirate Cove, though. Foxy was left to sit on the edge of the stage and watch the children start to play the games. The pirate animatronic felt himself observing how the children played, and their reactions to the game itself. They seemed to be enjoying it very much, and the animatronic could've sworn he felt a tug at his metal chest.

Whatever that was.

A sudden childish voice caught his attention.

"Foxy?"

The animatronic immediately turned his head to the source of the voice, only to see Mike standing there, a piece of paper clutched in his hands. The animatronic fox took a step off the stage and onto the floor in order to greet the child.

"Ahoy, lad! How ye' be doin' on this here fine day?"

"Well," Mike's eyes traveled to the floor. "I'm neutral, I guess. My mother just got custody of me yesterday, and she's been...busy. She dropped me off here just for the hour, and said to make sure to not talk to anyone, and made sure I was within a trusted adult's sight."

"A wise choice, lad," Foxy commented. "Talkin' ta' strangers isn't safe, it isn't. Yer mother's a wise woman, she be. But what would make 'er so busy ta' not be able to watch ye'?"

"She has to stop by the store to get some groceries and pick up some prescriptions," Mike shrugged. "Then drop them off at our house and stay with me for the rest of the hour. She hasn't been feeling that well lately, either."

"Oh," Foxy tilted his head at the child. "Well, I hope yer mother gets well. An', just curious, but why aren't ye' over there with all the other lads n' lassies playin' the new games?"

"My mom didn't bring me any money to use," He said as he glanced at the games. "If she did, I would've probably bought a pizza. The games look overcrowded, anyway."

Foxy looked at the games, to see that there were lines at certain ones just to play them. The animatronic blinked in surprise. There were plenty as it is...

"Well, ye'd best go to Freddy's band," Foxy said as he made his way back onto the stage. "They be performin' in a few minutes, they be."

"I'd rather stay here," Mike said as he sat down in front of the stage. "You're more interesting than them."

Foxy looked back at the child, fairly confused. He asked, "Really?"

"Yeah," Mike shrugged, leaning back a bit. "Plus, it's quiet in here, so it's more relaxing."

Foxy sat on the stage, managing to cross his metal legs. Thank God for his new, loose parts that allowed him to do so. After the animatronic got in a comfortable position, he asked, "What be in yer' hands, lad?"

Mike looked down to the paper held in his hands as his eyes widened in realization. He chuckled before saying, "My friend's sister always wanted to come here when she was younger, but she never had the opportunity to. When I was talking to my friend about asking my mother to bring me here again, he gave me this drawing that his sister made and told me to give it to you if I did manage to come."

With that, Mike then slid the paper onto the stage as he sat back down. Foxy grabbed it carefully and had observed the drawing. It was clearly of him, except it was done in traditional pencil, and you can tell it was made by an older person, due to how detailed and well drawn it was. Foxy's eyes darted up towards Mike, whom nervously sat there.

"This is very good, it be," Foxy stated as he look back at the picture. "Looks just like 'Ol Foxy."

"Well, his sister is an artist, and makes a lot of money off of her work," Mike shrugged. "Of course it'd be well drawn."

Foxy then slid the paper to the side as he stretched a bit, wanting to loosen his joints a bit. As soon as he was done, he then asked, "What do ye' want ta' talk about, Lad?"

Mike opened his mouth to say something, but ended up shutting it, looking to the ground in thought. He shrugged. "Whatever you have planned, I guess."

"Well, 'Ol Foxy was hopin' for a bigger crowd, he was," Foxy commented as he motioned at the large, empty room they were in. "What I had planned included a lot of interactin' it, did."

"Oh," Mike said as he looked around. He then shrugged. "Well, why not do it, anyway? Just interact with me. That's why I'm here."

Foxy nodded. "If ye' say so, lad."

With that, the fox then stood as he straightened his position on the stage. He skipped his usual introduction, with it only being 1 audience member that was familiar with his character as it is. But the animatronic fox spent the hour interacting with Mike as he ran his usual show. Mike appeared to be enjoying it, having a smile placed on his face for most of the time he spent with the animatronic fox, and Foxy felt satisfied that he had at least 1 child interested in him.

He only knew it would go so far, anyway.

\--

Chica felt herself stare at the children running back and forth between games, laughing and smiling and they retrieved their tickets. For some reason, the pattern seemed to be like a never-ending cycle. Play, retrieve, play again. It seemed so...odd to her. So they just play it and get tickets, which they then get a prize? What seemed so special about the prizes?

With that, the animatronic turned her head towards the prize stand, where a whole bunch of things sat on shelves and such. She saw a balloon with Freddy's face as the design and shape of it, and almost cringed. Why wasn't she on any of them?

She also spotted some pirate-themed prizes, in which she assumed was for the children when they went into Pirate Cove. There were plastic swords, bandanas, eye patches, and other various items. She couldn't spot anything related to their band, minus all the Freddy items there were. She also spotted Bonnie's bowtie being an available prize, but she didn't see anything relating to her. Not even a bib for the younglings.

The prizes seemed to be what the children were focused on getting, and Chica felt a little disappointed. What happened to focusing on the band?

Foxy's words then rang in her head: "'Ol Foxy heard somethin' 'bout games an' prizes bein' added. That sounds more interestin' than of watchin' an animatronic band play, doesn't it?"

Chica felt herself looked to the ground, starting to worry. She spotted Bonnie walking in her direction, and had stepped in front of him, blocking his path. He tilted his metal head in confusion.

"Do you need something, Chica?"

"No," She shook her head as she looked to the ground. She took a few moments to gather her words as she asked, "Bonnie, do you think these games will...replace us?"

"Replace us?" Bonnie repeated, sounding confused. "How on Earth would these games replace us?"

"Well, think about it," Chica said as she looked at him. "They all seem so happy and eager, and there are plenty of games to choose from...All we do is just sing the same songs over and over and never do anything as interesting as these games do. What if....What if they lose interest in us?"

"Chica," Bonnie replied sternly. "We are not going to get replaced. The kids love us, and you know that. They're just experiencing something new, is all. We haven't been forgotten."

"Right," Chica smiled. "Thank you, Bonnie."

"You're welcome," He replied. "I kind of feel bad for Foxy, though. He never did get that much attention before, and Pirate Cove looks empty. At least we got a few kids to approach us."

"You're right," Chica said as she looked over at the Pirate Cove entrance, which looked as if a desert for how empty it was. "Think we should pay him a visit?"

"Well, why not?" Bonnie shrugged before making his way over there. Chica caught up with him, following closely behind. As soon as they approached Pirate Cove, they blinked.

Foxy was currently sitting on the floor across Mike, whom was now wearing Foxy's pirate hat in which he would occasionally wear. They seemed to be talking until Foxy noticed the two animatronics that walked in.

"Ahoy, ye' two!" He waved to them. Mike looked over, realizing that they had company. Bonnie tilted his head.

"And who is this?"

"Why, this be me first mate, Mike!" Foxy said as he motioned towards the child in front of him. "Say ahoy to the landlubbers, lad!"

"A-Ahoy?" Mike said, sounding a bit hesitant. After receiving an approving nod from Foxy, he then gave the animatronics a sheepish smile. Chica gave them a confused look.

"What are you guys doing?"

"We be' talkin' 'bout the grub, we be! Mike enjoys yer' pizzas, Chica."

"Oh. Thank you very much!" Chica said as he gave Mike a smile. He returned it, a bit hesitant.

"Say, why aren't you trying out the games like the rest of the children?" Bonnie asked, giving the child a confused look. "There's plenty to try out."

"I don't have any money, and I'd rather stay here," Mike shrugged, looking to Foxy. The animatronic smiled at him.

"Wow, you're so lucky, Foxy," Chica commented in amazement. "Having such a dedicated child...I wish I had one of those."

"I'm sure ye' do," Foxy commented as he readjusted his position. "They just probably be' tryin' out the games. I know how many of me audience is."

"That's what makes it sad," Chica commented as she looked to the ground. Bonnie patted her on the back.

"Ye' know what? Let's all just have a conversation," Foxy said as he scooted backwards a bit. "Get a little in touch with each other. What do ye' say, Mike?"

"I guess," He shrugged. Bonnie took a seat while Chica sat beside him, making herself comfortable.

So the 4 sat down and carried out a conversation for the rest of the hour until Mike had to leave. When he did, Foxy was left alone in Pirate Cove for most of the day until children started to show up with plastic swords and eye patches. The other children returned to the band as well, and seemed just as excited as they were any other day about them.

And, as the animatronics performed their shows, they felt themselves smile. They were loved.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because of the success the pizzeria is bringing in, the employees plan on programming the crew to perform a Pirate-themed show to the children. The sudden addition of this has the children both curious and excited.

The next few weeks seemed to be one of the most busiest weeks Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria ever had to face. Since of the new additions, specifically of the arcade games, it was like the murder that had taken place in the neighborhood never happened. It seemed that the neighborhood had gotten a boost from all the children's laughter heard within the building. Like things were restored to how they originally were.

How ironic that a pizzeria could do that.

Everything seemed pretty normal. The animatronics started gathering their likes and dislikes, as the employees had presumed. They started growing some on the kids, and it appeared that they all adored them very much. Especially Freddy, considering most of the kids liked him best. They didn't seem to dislike any of the children, unless they witnessed one bullying another or just being plain rude. But, even then, they'd take it in a light matter and as friendly as possible.

Just like planned.

The games were a hit, and the prizes seemed to be the highlight of the restaurant. They'd end up having to restock or would end up running out of a specific item that has gained popularity. The item that seemed to have hit the most attention was the Freddy Fazbear balloons, and of the pirate items.

Pirate Cove had been getting a lot more attention since of the prizes. Most of the parents only allowed their children to play with the swords if it were in Pirate Cove, as with any other items. Foxy ended up using these to his advantage as to let the audience use their bought items when he interacted with them. He even set up some games that they could use their items in.

One game Foxy came up with was that whoever wore their bandana a certain way was on a certain team, and they'd separate based upon that. Or, on other occasions, he'd base it on what eye the children would wear their eye patches on. Ones that didn't have either were put on either side, just to even the numbers out. Foxy would then give them questions about the stories he told them or about pirate culture. He'd educate them about the subjects while he ran his show, and would see who had been paying attention and who hadn't.

Whichever team won would either get coupons for pizzas or free tokens and/or tickets. This seemed to drag a lot of attention into Pirate Cove, and the adults were even more weary of the fox, since he'd step off the stage at times just to ask the questions or to give the prizes to the winning teams. The children didn't mind it, like always, and were even excited about getting to meet the fox. Foxy appeared to be more friendly, but it seemed that, no matter how hard the animatronic pirate tried, he would never gain the adults' trust.

Freddy's band had been getting...well, the least amount of attention. Parties would still run and children would still watch them, but it seemed that they haven't been as interesting as Pirate Cove was. At times, the animatronics would just sit on stage and watch the children pile into Pirate Cove just to watch the fox during his shows. The employees noticed this, and had decided to give new songs to the band to "perform".

This, of course, triggered more children to return back to the band, but many still stayed at Pirate Cove. It seemed that, with every new addition, the attention was shifted back and forth. Eventually, the employees had gotten a bit tired of this pattern and had decided to go with Jane's idea.

They were going to collide the two together. How on Earth they would manage it was something they'd figure out together.

And this was that specific day. It was Thursday, which meant that children were busy piling inside the pizzeria doors to watch the animatronics run their shows. A portion went running to the games while others made their way to Pirate Cove, or towards the band. Others were running over to the play area, but it was a small amount of the children.

The ones that went running over to the band were greeted with an empty stage. A sign that read: "Meet us at Pirate Cove!" had been set on the edge of it in everyone's view.

The children, filled with curiosity, then had piled into Pirate Cove, which was pretty crowded as it was. The stage was blocked by the curtains, which meant that it wasn't open yet. A large portion of the children went to the games to pass time while a lot of the children stayed, eager as to knowing what was going on. A lot of them remained clueless, though, and had remained sitting on the floor or in the booths/tables with their parents as they waited for what was to come.

\--

"Do I really have to do this?" Freddy asked as he tugged on the pirate hat he was wearing, dearly missing his trustworthy top hat, which was probably put into a bag somewhere backstage.

"If I'm doing it, then you are, too," Bonnie said as he patted his friend on the back. Freddy turned to give him a glare, clearly not amused. Chica let out a giggle.

"I don't know about you guys, but I really like my costume. This might be fun, too! I always found pirates intriguing."

"Ye' 'ave?" Foxy asked, tilting his head at her. "I thought cookin' intrigued ye'."

"Oh, it does," Chica said as she flattened her clothes a bit. "I just can't help but admire how awesome pirate's lives are!"

Foxy smirked before turning back to the curtain glancing through them, but kept himself hidden. The employees continued to run back and forth on the blocked stage, setting up several props for their show. The animatronics just stood there, unsure of where to go. They already had their dialogue memorized, so they didn't need any rehearsal.

"So...They decided to group us together," Bonnie commented as he fidgeted with the plastic sword on his belt. "I wonder why on Earth they'd want to do that."

"Well, maybe they just want to try something new," Chica shrugged. "I mean, I haven't tried this before, have you?"

"No," Bonnie shook in his response. "How 'bout you, Freddy?"

"No, and I'm not sure if I really want to, being honest," The bear animatronic responded as he looked to the floor. "I was really hoping to have sung 'Crust in My Heart' by now."

"Oh, come on," Bonnie rolled his eyes. "We can do that anytime. This, though? I doubt we'll be doing anything like this again for awhile."

"What really is this?" Freddy asked as he motioned towards the stage they were on. "I mean, we're just acting like pirates. We could've done that anytime!"

"Aye, but ye' don't have a stage for that, now do ye'?" Foxy asked, giving them a smirk. Freddy gave him a glare in response, making the pirate animatronic look away. An employee then approached them.

"3 Minutes 'til you perform, guys," He said as he checked something off from the clipboard he was holding. "Get into your positions, alright?"

"Got it~" Chica sang as she skipped onto the stage, stepping on her appropriate spot. Foxy gladly followed behind as Bonnie walked behind him rather slowly, Freddy staggering behind him. Once they got into their positions, they glanced at each other.

"Well, here we go," Chica said as she flattened her outfit once more. "I'm kind of nervous."

"Why would ye' be nervous, lass?" Foxy asked, looking back at her.

"Well...I'm afraid of making a mistake," Chica admitted as she rubbed her metal arm, giving him a sheepish smile. Bonnie scoffed.

"Chica, even if you make a slight one, no one will notice. All that matters is that we're making the children smile, right?"

"Right," Freddy nodded. "Their smiles are all we need to know that we have done our job correctly."

"True words spoken finely," Foxy nodded. They remained in their positions in silence until they heard the employees starting to shush the children. They then adjusted themselves, awaiting for one of the employees to start to explain what was going on.

It came quicker than expected.

The pizzeria managed to quiet down rather quickly, minus the sounds of the games. Waiters and waitresses took this opportunity to hurry to the kitchen to give the orders to the chefs, wanting the pizzas to come in as quickly as possible. One of the employees took one of the microphones and tested it, looking up to the crowd.

"Alright," He said as he stood in the front of the stage. He cleared his throat before saying, "My name is Andrew, and, as you may know, you have been directed here in order to view the animatronics. Well, today, we decided to gather a special performance just for you guys! Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica are going to join us in a special pirate adventure that awaits you all! How fun does that sound?"

Immediately, the crowd of children had burst into an applause followed by several cheers. Andrew chuckled.

"Throughout this adventure, you are going to be given plenty of opportunities to win prizes. This also includes plenty of interaction, since you guys play quite a big role in this. For children who do not wish to participate in any of these activities, feel free to stay seated throughout the performance, but you are free to answer any of the questions the animatronics may ask you. Just keep in mind that they are free to walk around you guys and speak to you, but in no way are they allowed to harm you."

The children blinked in confusion, but the adults remained attentive. Andrew continued:

"The emergency exits are to your left and to your right. They are to be accessible at all times, and we ask that you do not block them at any time during the show. Fire extinguishers are placed near the emergency exits, and are also to be accessible at all times. If any of the noises or animatronics bother you, feel free to exit the show at any time, but please try to not be of a disturbance. We ask that you do not interfere with the animatronics or step anywhere on the stage. We also ask that you do not throw anything at the stage, since it can distract the robots performing. But they'll return it to you upon your request. We do not hold any responsibility for any stolen personal items, or any harm that is a result of breaking the rules after our given warnings."

The adults then made themselves comfortable, satisfied with the given information. The children were too busy squirming or scooting closer, eager to see the animatronics. Andrew noticed this, and gave them sheepish smiles.

"So, without any further a do, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria would like to welcome you to: Pirate Foxy's Terrific Adventure! Enjoy!"

The children then cheered as some upgraded lights had suddenly came on and lit the stage. The curtains then rose, revealing the animatronics, whom were in their trademark poses. It took a minute or two until the children's cheers ceased, in which the animatronics had immediately gone to business.

"Ahoy lads n' lassies!" Foxy exclaimed as he stood at the edge of the stage, observing the audience before him. The children either applauded or waved to the animatronic fox, in which he had waved back. Some replied with a 'Hello Foxy!', in which he would be sure to acknowledge their presence. He then stepped back a bit.

"I be Foxy, the Cap'n of this here crew! And in me crew, I got Bonnie, Chica, and Freddy! Ye must be familiar with 'em, right?"

The children ended up cheering as they waved the animatronics behind Foxy, whom had smiled and waved back in excitement. The animatronic fox laughed.

"'Ol Foxy isn't usually one ta' brag, but I got me a feelin' that this show will be one of our best! Right, Freddy?"

"That's up for them to decide, Foxy," Freddy said as he motioned towards the audience.

"Really?" Foxy asked as he titled his metal head at the audience. "Why, these landlubbers must be very special if they get ta' decide on how we be runnin' the show!"

With that, the fox animatronic then stepped off the stage, resulting in some children to scoot away. Others scooted closer, and Foxy made sure not to step on any of them. He then walked through the crowds and the tables, observing everyone in the room.

"Uh, Foxy?" Bonnie asked, tilting his head. "What are you doing?"

"I be admirin' the audience, Bonnie!" He replied as he continued to walk by the tables. "Everyone here be lovely, they be! 'Specially ye', lass! I like yer' hair."

A girl blushed as he tugged at her pigtails, and Foxy chuckled before quickly sprinting back to the stage, minding the children and parents in his path. Once he got back on stage, he smiled.

"Today, we be goin' on an adventure, we be! An' this isn't a normal adventure, because it be involvin' brave pirates that are willin' to chug on pizza n' learn! How many of ye' are in that category?"

A large portion of the children raised their hands. The ones that didn't looked around nervously. Foxy chuckled.

"Well, if yer' not, then I suggest goin' to the games an' playin' if ye' aren't interested in participatin'! Or if ye' don't want ta' learn, which I suppose ye'll just have ta' face, anyway."

Chica then stood next to Foxy as she exclaimed, "Make sure to enjoy the pizzas during our adventure! Travelers do get quite hungry, don't they, Foxy?"

"Indeed they do, Chica," Foxy smiled. "I suggest goin' with cheese, since it be my favorite toppin', but ye' go with what ye' want."

"During our adventure, we'll also need your cooperation," Bonnie stated. Foxy nodded.

"We do be needin' that, we be! If none of ye' are willin' to answer th' questions, we be lackin' on our travelin'! And, the more we be lackin', the more loot we be' missin'! Which be remindin' me..."

Foxy then made his way towards a chest that was set in the corner. He opened it and rummaged through it before grabbing a handful of tokens. Once the children were able to see it, their eyes widened with interest.

"The loot we be carryin' be full of tickets, tokens, n' a lot of other booty!" Foxy commented as he then tossed the coins back in the chest. "We have plenty ta' give away, but we can only do that if ye' be listenin' n' paying attention ta' what we have ta' say."

"That's right," Freddy agreed. "We will be leading you through our adventure and will stop to ask questions. What the prize is only comes afterwards."

"Yep," Bonnie nodded. "You don't know what you can win!"

"The prizes range from free pizzas to thousands of tickets and tokens," Chica commented.

"Indeed they do!" Foxy said as he turned back to the audience. "But, gettin' to the adventure. We are goin' to do this by separatin' ye' into teams. How's 'bout that?"

The children then cheered, and Foxy smiled. He then directed, "If ye' be on my team, go on n' sit on the right direction of th' stage."

A large portion of the children sat down to the right. Another portion of the children stood, a bit unsure on where to go. Freddy spoke, "If you're on my team, sit on the left direction of the stage."

About half of the portion went to side on the left. Bonnie instructed, "If you're on my team, sit in the middle."

More than half the children went to sit in the middle. Chica said, "And if you're on mine, sit in the back!"

A smaller portion went in the back. Chica looked a bit affected, but Bonnie placed a metal hand on her shoulder, and she had smiled. Foxy ignored this as he exclaimed, "So let's get to it!"

Immediately, the audience cheered as they scooted closer, eager for the adventure. Some pirate-themed music had suddenly started to play through hidden speakers, appearing to occupy the silence of the room. Some extra upgraded lights that were put onto the ceiling had lit up, appearing to make a pattern shine onto the floor. The children laughed and smiled as their eyes lit up at the new colors of the lights. Since the room appeared much more dimmer, the lights that shone around the room seemed to bring most of the attention back on the stage, where most of the heated lights were shining as it is.

Foxy laughed, the music still playing in the background. He danced a bit on stage, rather impressively for an animatronic. The others smiled as they watched the Captain, joining in on the wild dance he performed. They all seemed excited, and it certainly brought up the energy contained in the room, what with all the flights flashing around.

Soon, before any of the children knew it, Foxy lightly jumped a bit on stage as he started singing:

"Hope ye lads n' lassies be ready  
As we go n' travel the seven seas!  
An' what will we bring with us?  
Why, pizza filled with cheese!

An' it be best if ye' don't know  
Where the show is gonna' go,  
But all that matters, really,  
Is ta' have fun an' be silly!

Now, I don't want ta' see ye' go,  
So it'd be best for ye' ta' know  
That we don't tolerate reckin',  
Or the plank is where ye'll go!"

Foxy stopped singing, but the music still played. He then continued to dance, but had suddenly grabbed Chica's metal hand as he led her to the front of the stage. He let go as he stood at the side, holding his hooked hand with his metal one behind his back. Bonnie danced in the background as Freddy stood at the left side of the stage, watching Chica adjust herself in front of the audience.

She took the opportunity to continue the song:

"Everything you could ever desire  
All starts with friendship and adventure  
And with that, you'll always know,  
That those bonds will always grow!  
So long as we're with you~"

She then skipped over to Freddy and had lightly pushed him to the front. She ended up dancing with Bonnie just for background. Freddy adjusted his pirate hat before singing:

"Though we may be sailing,  
We all know where our hearts are aching  
Back to where things matter the most  
Which include back at home  
Way far off near the coast  
So we can be with all of you!"

He then scooted backwards and pushed Bonnie to the front, whom stumbled, but regained his balance as he sung:

"Though we may fighting for what's true,  
We all can get sick of seein' the blue  
In which we know that the things we left behind  
Will lead us back to you!"

The animatronics then grouped together as they sang:

"And since we all know what's true,  
We can only say to you:  
High hopes for us out on the blue!  
So long as we're with you!"

With that, they then stepped away from each other as they bowed, resulting in a huge amount of cheers from the audience. Children screamed in delight as the adults rolled their eyes at the cheesy lyrics. The younger audience, of course, didn't mind, but the song had even gotten the author to cringe.

"Well, that was fun while it lasted," Bonnie commented as he got into his position onto the stage. "What do we do now, Cap'n Foxy?"

"Now we actually be startin' our adventure, we be," Foxy replied as he walked to the other side of the stage. "First we be needin' a plan ta' go somewhere. Where we be goin' is somethin' we all need ta' decide on together."

"Well, where is there to go?" Chica asked, tilting her metal head at the fox in confusion. Foxy, in response, smirked.

"Well, we be havin' some options ta' choose from, we do! But it isn't up ta' any one of us ta' choose, but of me crew!"

"And by crew, you mean all of ours?" Bonnie asked.

"Aye," Foxy responded, rolling his eyes. He then faced the audience as he said, "We be goin' to list some of the places we can explore! I want ye' all to vote where we go, alright?"

All the children nodded their heads, eager to interact with the story. One of the employees then walked up to the stage and handed a piece of paper to Foxy, whom had gladly took it and started reading.

"We be havin' quite some islands to be choosin' from, we be," Foxy commented as he studied the list. "'Ol Foxy will just list out the ones he isn't black spotted in, he will."

"Black spotted? What does THAT mean?" Chica asked as she turned to Freddy. The bear animatronic shrugged. They then looked to Bonnie, whom had also shrugged. Foxy laughed.

"Means I been marked for death! Not that I did anythin' wrong, but..."

Freddy gave the fox animatronic a blank look, in which the pirate nervously smiled as he faced the audience.

"Anyway, we be able ta' go ta' th' Cursed Island o' Rennard, Smitstake's Island, or th' Jungle o' Mary."

A sudden childish squeal came out from the crowd, and everyone turned their heads. A girl that was around the age of 7 blushed as she covered her mouth, giving everyone a sheepish smile. Foxy laughed.

"Mary, ye' didn't tell me ye' were in th' audience!"

The other animatronics blinked in confusion as they looked at the child. The rest of the adults and children gave her confused looks as well, a little lost. Mary blushed as she covered her face in embarrassment.

"Ye' know what?" Foxy asked as he glanced at his other animatronic friends. "Let's go to th' jungle. I promised lassie here I'd take 'er, but I never did. But I be thinkin' this be the day I do!"

"A promise?" Freddy's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, we can't go against that, can we?"

"Indeed we can't," Bonnie nodded.

"Well, I guess it's the jungle. Sorry everyone!" Chica said as she called out to the crowd. Some children groaned in response while others just sat, wondering where this will go. Foxy laughed.

"It ain't so bad, ye' know! Besides, I planned some o' this one meself. Ye' might just like it."

This had gotten some children to get intrigued, while others still groaned, a bit annoyed. No one complained, though, as the animatronics then switched their positions as the music in the speakers had changed. It seemed more fitting as background music, which was quite suitable for the situation going on.

The animatronics were moving the props on stage in various locations. Some looked like they didn't belong, and everyone watched in confusion. The employees continued to watch the animatronics, a few of them hopping on stage to help move some things. While they continued to move things with the background music going on, Foxy sat on a wooden box that was placed on the edge of the stage. He sat on it and stared at the audience for a few seconds. The animatronics and employees continued to move around behind him, changing the setting of the stage.

Foxy said, "While they be changing' th' stage, why don't we all talk for a bit? Like, say, what be yer' favorite thing 'bout the seas? Raise yer' hand, for I only got me two ears."

One child raised their hand, in which Foxy had called on them. They cleared their throat before saying, "Getting wet!"

"Ah, gettin' wet be enjoyable, it be," The pirate nodded as he adjusted himself on the box. "'Specially when 'tis hot. Happens a lot out on th' sea, actually."

Another child raised their hand, and Foxy called on them. The child exclaimed, "Fishies!"

"Ye' like fishin'?" Foxy asked. The child nodded, and the animatronic smirked. "Neat. Ye' must be a patient lassie."

Several children's hands went up, and Foxy had to take some time to call on them separately. As they listed their favorite things about the seas, the animatronics and employees had finished setting up the stage. Once they did, Foxy had stopped calling on the children and went off of the box, pushing that to the side.

The music still went on as the animatronics then explained what they were going to do in their "adventure". A lot of the children seemed intrigued and had stayed throughout the performance. They'd stop to ask questions, and would end up giving prizes away. Sometimes, they'd give hundreds of tickets for each member of each team. It only happened once throughout their performance, but it had certainly gotten the children eager to answer the questions correct and to pay attention.

The animatronics interacted a lot with the audience and of themselves. They'd end up breaking in song in certain parts of their adventure, and had done their best to make things seem realistic, hence most of the props being made out of cardboard. The animatronics would sometimes step off stage and walk through the audience members. Foxy seemed to do it the most, with him being well known for doing so. They would detect if their audience member was uncomfortable with their presence, and would leave them alone. They also didn't harm any of the members, as guaranteed in Andrew's speech before the performance.

And, when the day ended, a lot of the children ended up having most of the larger prizes from the stand. Through some breaks they'd have through their performance, some wise children would go and play the games and would try to win tickets through answering some of the questions. Everyone went home with at least a smile on their faces, and they all seemed in a positive mood. Even the parents who weren't fond of the animatronics were glad seeing their child so excited and happy.

Maybe the animatronics weren't so bad after all.

\--

It turned out that "Pirate Foxy's Terrific Adventure!" had made it onto the newspaper the next day. Many reviews from parents and/or critics were included in the article, and most of them were very positive. Of course, some of the critiques included the props and of the setting, which were more in the low quality side, but the main focus was shifted onto the animatronics. They did their part quite well, which was stated among many of the entries.

With that said, Mr. Fazbear decided to add "Pirate Foxy's Terrific Adventure!" to the pizzeria's schedule. They'd be performing it on Mondays and Thursdays, and would be sure to give the animatronics space to run their own shows. They still included new things in them, but more focus was shifted onto their new-added event, in which the employees would discuss more ideas for the performance. The animatronics would add in their own, which the employees would figure out as the robots would perform it.

No one complained, though. Most of their ideas were very clever.

This dragged much attention on Mondays and Thursdays, and the kids were even more attached to the animatronics more than they ever were. They made sure that the audience's comfort was one of the top priorities, and would do their best to make sure that the people who were uncomfortable with the animatronics had their own necessary space. The animatronics wouldn't step in their side of the room as much, and wouldn't interact with them upon their request. This helped with their view of the audience, but made sure to not look at them any differently than they would to the children willing to interact with them.

They loved all children equally. It was just how they were programmed.

This added attention resulted in more profit. And, of course, more profit equaled more decorations. Most of the new money went into new foods being served on the menus. They still focused on pizza, but made sure to include more of a variety, just for people's tastes. They also added new deserts, in which the children seemed to adore after having their share of pizza.

The new decorations added were more onto Pirate Cove, since that was where "Pirate Foxy's Terrific Adventure!" would take place. They expanded the stage larger than it originally was, and had morphed it more into the shape of a ship. They still had decorations lining on it, but they seemed to paint and decorate it more of a ship. This resulted in more space being added onto the room, which would lead to more children being available to sit in. Foxy's normal show seemed a bit more empty, with him just being the only one on stage, but he had more to interact with and had much more space to walk around in. Especially considering Foxy's love of moving around a lot.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the pizzeria's new additions, foods, and animatronics. No one really questioned what direction the pizzeria was heading in because no one found the need to.

Because, after all, who would question the happiness of kids?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Halloween, the bots plan on doing something special in the pizzeria. A haunted maze is opened, candy-themes are everywhere, and games are placed for the toddlers. Who couldn't ask for more?

It had been a month since of the first showing of "Pirate Foxy's Terrific Adventure!" The show would gain more critiques in the newspapers, and they still remained positive. But, it seemed that, after a month of having it, the event wasn't as special as it used to be. New ideas still came through each performance, and it was why the children still came back to it, but they just performed it for the sake of it. Well, the sake of doing it and for the children.

Whichever works.

New prizes would be added weekly, and some new games would come, too. But things were kept the way they were for most of the month. Birthday parties still ran in the place, and it seemed that they, at least, had 3 parties per day. The party area had a lot of space as it is, and they added some newer activities that the Birthday child could do on their special day.

\--

On a certain Friday, everything was pretty much the same at the pizzeria. The children laughed a lot more as they played or watched the animatronics, chugging down on the restaurant's pizza while doing so. Freddy's band was playing, like usual, and Foxy was running his normal show.

He didn't have that much of a large audience that day, but it was still something he could work with. He was currently digging through his chest stuffed at the back of the stage, throwing tickets to the side as he dug deeper.

"Coulda' sworn it was in 'ere," He muttered as he then emptied out the chest and put it on his metal head. He then stood there, placing his metal hand on his hip as he stared through the darkness of the chest. The children in his audience laughed, and he felt himself mentally smile from under the chest.

He then took it off of his head as he lazily tossed it to the side. He said, "Well, if it ain't in there, it ain't anywhere. But I'm telling ye'! I really sailed through that storm, I did!"

The children rolled their eyes in response, but continued laughing as they leaned back. Foxy groaned, a smile creeping up onto his mouth as he looked around the stage. Boy, did it feel good to have the children smile..

He announced, "Well, that be me show for this afternoon. Come back around..eh, 'alf an 'our from now, and I'll be 'ere with some new tales, eh?"

The children nodded as they got up and ran to their booths or into the other rooms of the pizzeria. Foxy was left with a few children that stayed behind in order to speak to him. Foxy sat on the edge of the stage as he said, "If yer' 'ere for me, then I be ready!"

"Foxy!" One of the children exclaimed as they ran to the animatronic, extending their arms. Foxy turned his head as he extended his own, ending up hugging the child as they finally reached him. She didn't let go until a few seconds, giving him a bright smile.

"Foxy, I got a new shirt! Do you like it?"

She then spun around in the outfit she was in, and the animatronic laughed.

"'Course I do, lassie! Ye' look good in anythin' ye wear!"

She then blushed, placing her hands to her cheeks. She then gave him another hug before running into the game area, and Foxy felt himself watch her a bit longer than he intended to.

He quickly turned back to the next child, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Why, if it ain't me special mate, Mary! How are ye', lassie?"

Mary smiled as she twiddled with her fingers shyly. She must've gotten new clothes from the last time he saw her, wearing a headband in her brown hair as she wore green dress to match.

She looked up at him with the cutest smile. "I've been good! I finally got moved into a public Elementary school!"

"Really?" Foxy asked, eyes widened in surprise. She then nodded, making him grin.

"That's great ta' hear, lass! When did ye' move into it?"

"Um," She placed a finger to her chin in thought, eyes traveling to the ceiling. "I think around last week. The people there are really nice, and I told my new friends all about you!"

"Really?" He asked, taken a bit off guard. "What did ye' say to 'em?"

"That you're my favorite character and how I love your shows! My friend said that she never really liked you, but she's never seen your show that you do with the others dressed as pirates! She said she'd check it out!"

"Sure hope she does," Foxy said before eying her outfit. "May be off topic, but I really like yer' dress, lassie."

Her eyes lit up as she looked down at it. She hesitating before looking up at him with uncertainty. "Really?"

"Of course!" He exclaimed as he made eye contact with her. "Ye be lookin' really good! When did ye' get it?"

"After I came back from the first adventure you showed us!" She exclaimed, a wide grin placed on her face. "I wanted to look for a pirate dress, but we couldn't find any...My Mommy got me this, though!"

"Yer' mother be really havin' good taste, then," Foxy said as he watched Mary do a little twirl on her heel. "Has ta' be one of th' best dresses I've seen, actually."

"Really?" Mary asked, her eyes widened as she looked at him. Foxy nodded.

"'Course."

"I just wish they made pirate dresses," Mary huffed as her eyes traveled to the ground in disappointment. "If I had one, I'd wear it every time I came here!"

"I wish they'd make 'em, too, lass," Foxy said as he scooted back a bit on the stage. "Maybe ye' can find a regular pirate outfit?"

"Or maybe I can wear an eye patch from the prize stand!" She exclaimed, her eyes wandering over to the stand in excitement. "That would still count, right?"

"'Course it would," Foxy nodded. "I admire yer' thinkin', lass."

"Thanks!" Mary said as she continued to stare at the prize stand. She fidgeted with her fingers for a bit before she turned to him.

"I'm going to go try saving up for it now!"

With that, she then left to run in the game area eagerly. Foxy mentally chuckled.

Seems that children weren't so bad after all.

\--

The pizzeria was doing quite swell after a week or two. Parties ran quite more often, and it seemed activity was heavily boosted up. The new variety of foods seemed popular on the menu, but things were still focused on the pizza.

It wasn't long until October came around. Streets were filled with various decorations among many houses, and it was that time of the month that candy and costumes were popular. The pizzeria decided to be apart of the celebration this year, and had immediately gone into decoration.

Obviously.

Some fake cobwebs would be put in corners of the room and in the more darker places of the building. Paper decorations were lined along the wall, and it was around the time for the children to make Halloween-based fan art upon the animatronics or just simply sketching a pumpkin. Either way, it was all hung up on there as well, and people would take some time to admire the new decorations.

The band got some added decorations on the stage, and the tables had some Halloween-themed tablecloth set onto them. Some background Halloween-themed music would play while the band wasn't on stage, and the band made sure to center some songs around the holiday. The pizzeria only allowed costumes on the week the day Halloween would take place in.

Pirate Cove was the least decorated place. It was difficult combining pirates with Halloween, minus themed-costumes. But they made sure to include chocolate coins or candy in Foxy's treasure chest, where he would give away during his shows.

As for "Pirate Foxy's Terrific Adventure!"? Well, let's just say that a lot of candy was given out on those days. They made sure to make their setting much more darker for the theme. Their costumes would have more darker colors fit for the holiday, but that was about it. They didn't want to go too overboard with it, after all.

They'd save that for Christmas.

But, once the week Halloween was on had entered the place, the pizzeria had started allowing guests to enter with their costumes on. They, of course, had some small guidelines to it, with it being obvious rules. No weapons, harmful gear, inappropriate costumes, and no adults wearing any costumes. Anything else was common sense, really.

And, on that week, the pizzeria had decided to focus on Halloween-themed activities. They decided to let the animatronics lecture the children upon Halloween itself and of the creatures that seemed to be popular images to dress as. Like witches and vampires, which they had decided to inform the children about and why they're so popular to dress up as. They would ask questions, and would give candy away as a prize. Not much of a difference there, besides the different topic the questions would focus on.

The pizzeria didn't add many new activities, wanting to save up for ones they were planning for Christmas. But they made sure to add one large event followed up with a few small ones. The large event placed in the pizzeria included Pirate Cove. The small events were just put to the side in different rooms. But the one in Pirate Cove was the main and focused event taking place inside the building.

An employee had gotten the idea to add a miniature haunted house in the pizzeria. They had plenty of space in many of the rooms to add one in, but they felt that Pirate Cove was among the largest and most appropriate spots to hold one in. And it wasn't miniature, figuring that the thing held most of the space in the large room. It was designed to be a long passageway that guests would have to walk through while facing many horror-like surroundings and scares.

They also had a portion of the employees dress up as monsters or various creatures to be within the passageways. They had applied makeup and specially designed costumes just for the occasion. There were to try and scare the guests in creative ways as they made their way through the haunted house. Some of the makeup applied to specific ones already got some teens to jump at.

They still, of course, kept some employees to do their regular job. Waiters and waitresses still held their positions, as with the chefs and other various employees. Some still wore makeup and costumes, but weren't able to have any that would scare the children. But it still matched the theme of the setting the pizzeria held.

Foxy had his own portion of Pirate Cove to run his regular show. He still had the stage to work with, but most of the room was blocked out by the area used for the haunted house. Plus, with all the noises coming within it, it was relatively difficult to have his audience hear him clearly. He'd sometimes move them to a different room because of it, and they still got the chance to enjoy his show.

The haunted house only allowed specific people to enter. Heart troubles, pregnancies, and age restrictions were obviously placed upon the rules. They allowed teens and adults to enter, and restricted the children from entering for obvious purposes. They also charged the guests to be able to enter. It was a dollar per entry, or at least 30 tickets, if you couldn't afford that.

It was definitely worth the price, figuring that it was quite large from the size of Pirate Cove. They also had put some time and money into it, which was obviously shown from all the lights and decoration, as with the employees getting paid to do it. Many of the teens and/or adults ended up paying another dollar or two just to re-enter. Some groups of teens would go in about 10 times just for the sake of it.

The smaller events took place in more of the kiddie areas of the pizzeria. They weren't big, and didn't cost any money to play. There were a few games held to the side of the play area where some children could go and try at. One game consisted of rubber ducks being held in a medium-sized water container. The rubber ducks were custom made, and were modeled after Chica, with them having small bibs painted onto themselves.

The focus of the game was to have the children try and get some small-sized loops around one of the rubber ducks' head. It seemed relatively easy, with the loops being larger than the rubber ducks themselves. This was purposely done to make the game easier for the smaller children, and that the game, itself, didn't cost any money. If it did, then the loops would've been made smaller, much upon the manager's wish.

The prizes were obviously put. Tokens and tickets. If the child managed to get the loop around one specific duck that was larger than the others, they'd be able to get one of the rubber ducks as a prize, as with either the tokens or tickets. It turned out that they had some extra ones to spare, and they figured to just give away while they could. They also planned to make a lot more of the rubber ducks and be able to give it away as a prize.

While those were in progress, the pizzeria remained the same with the Halloween-setting. They'd be sure to change everything back to normal once the month was over, so they made sure to highlight the haunted house as a "limited time" thing. There was a possibility that they'd be bringing it back next year, but who knows how much they'd make by then?

\--

"Foxy, Foxy, I just won a rubber Chica! Look! Look!"

The animatronic fox blinked in confusion as he turned to look at the child, who was jumping as they held a rubber duck in the air. Foxy then squatted down as he observed the thing, tilting his head in interest.

"It be lookin' like a fine prize, lad! Where did ye' get it?"

"Over at the game thing!" The child pointed to one of the games from afar. "It was REALLY easy to get, but they said that I'm the only one who had won one today! Isn't that awesome!?"

"Aye," Foxy nodded as he stood up straight. "Great job, lad!"

"Thanks!" He grinned as he stared at the prize held in his hand. He then looked up at the animatronic as he asked, "Do you...think Chica will like it?"

Foxy opened his jaw to reply, but ended up looking up to the ceiling in thought. He ended up shrugging.

"I don't know, lad. Ye' should find out an' show it to 'er!"

The child nodded as they suddenly ran out from the room and to the stage where the animatronics performed. Since they weren't on, he had to look around before managing to spot Chica from afar. He then ran to her, being sure he didn't drop his prize while doing so.

Once he reached her, she was currently bidding farewell to a child that was leaving. As soon as she was done, she turned around, only to be greeted by another child. He waved, which resulted in her waving back.

"Hi there! How's your stay at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria so far?"

"Great!" He replied with a grin. He then held up his rubber duck as he exclaimed, "Look what I won!"

Chica blinked before looking at the prize. It was....quite an odd object that she'd never seen before! But it looked a lot like her....

"It looks wonderful!" She commented as she then tilted her metal head in confusion with a slight click. "Is it modeled after me?"

"Sure is!" The child replied with a smile. Chica's eyes widened in surprise.

She then turned as he exclaimed, "Freddy! Freddy! Look, look, look!"

The animatronic bear turned around from whatever he had been doing and had approached the two. He blinked his blue eyes in confusion before asking, "Yes, Chica? What is it?"

"That!" The chicken replied as she pointed to the rubber duck held in the child's hands. "A toy is modeled after me! Can you believe it?"

"Yeah," Freddy nodded. "It's quite a neat rubber duck."

"Rubber...duck?" Chica asked, her smile vanishing. She then looked back at the thing as she commented, "I'm not a duck..."

Bonnie, whom had been nearby, snickered in the background. Chica turned to give him a glare, immediately silencing the animatronic.

Freddy gave her a smile. "Oh, come on. It's not that bad. Plenty of rubber ducks are modeled after things that aren't...well, ducks."

"You think?" Chica asked, turning to her friend. The child walked away from the animatronics and to a booth. They didn't notice this as the continued on with their conversation.

"Sure I do! I mean, Bonnie can be modeled as a rubber duck. And he's not one, right..?"

"Well, I don't know about THAT," Chica replied as she narrowed her eyes, turning to the bunny robot behind her. "For a bunny, he's sure got one large beak."

Bonnie turned around to give her a glare, in which she returned. Freddy shook his head as he stepped between them.

"Guys, guys, don't go into conflict. Today should be a happy day. And if we fight, it won't help."

"I guess you're right," Chica murmured as she looked at the ground. "Still, I'm not a duck. Why would they make me one?"

"Because, like ducks, you catch everyone's attention and they admire you," Bonnie replied. "Those children must give several attempts if they try to win a prize modeled after you."

"Aw," Chica clasped her metal hands together as she smiled at her friend. "Thank you, Bonnie!"

"Well, glad to see you two are getting along again," Freddy replied as he looked at all the children running around in the pizzeria. "So, while you two are still friendly, why don't we perform a song for the children? I've been wanting to try out that new one lately.."

"'Eyes within Pumpkin'?" Bonnie asked as he stepped on stage, grabbing his guitar that was put to the side.

"You know it." Freddy smirked as he followed after him on stage, grabbing his microphone from a nearby table. Chica grabbed her plate with a cupcake on it as she got into her position. Bonnie tuned his guitar for a bit before turning to his leader, giving the bear a nod. Freddy returned it as he turned back to Chica, who flattened out her bib as she nodded at him.

He then turned back to the audience, a smile brought onto his muzzle as he saw the tables already filled with plenty of children waiting for their performance. And, as they had started their song, the children watched them attentively with plenty of smiles. Freddy caught onto this, and felt himself smile, as with the other animatronics.

Boy, were they loved.

\--

"Hey, Angela, what do you think is in that haunted house thing?"

Angela blinked as she leaned to the right, seeing a portion of the entrance to the haunted house. She ended up shrugging as she looked back at her friend.

"I don't know, Brandon. Probably scary stuff, if they won't let us in."

Foxy adjusted himself beside her as he continued to read from a paper one of the employees had given him not too long ago. The children were led out of Pirate Cove by Foxy, and they had settled on a spot on the carpet in the Birthday area. There weren't a lot of people there, but plenty of children had joined in on the circle they formed. A lot of them were wearing costumes, due to it being the week Halloween took apart in. Foxy seemed to be too busy reading from the map to notice any of the children not paying attention to their activity. Well, at least the one he was currently in process of planning.

Brandon glanced back at the haunted house. He then turned back to Angela with a sigh.

"I really want to go in there. It looks like a lot of fun."

"It does," Angela nodded as she continued to observe the people entering. "But only grownups are allowed. It sucks."

"Hey, Foxy!" Brandon exclaimed, raising his voice so the animatronic fox would hear him. Foxy stopped reading as he set the map to the side, giving the child a curious look.

"Yes, lad?"

"Do you know what's in the haunted house?" He asked in an eager tone, motioning over to Pirate Cove. Foxy leaned a bit so he could see the thing, and ended up shrugging.

"'Fraid I don't, lad. But 'Ol Foxy be hearin' that it be filled with plenty o' scary things, it be!"

"Scary things?" One of the younger children gasped. "Like what!?"

"Oh, I don't know.." Foxy looked to the ground in thought, resting his hooked hand on his lap. "Depends on what yer 'fraid of."

"I'm afraid of spiders," A girl wearing a cat outfit commented as she looked to the ground. "They scare me."

"Me, too!" A young boy dressed in a dog outfit nodded his head, looking around at the others.

"Spiders are really interesting to me," One of the older kids commented as they shrugged. "It's moths that I'm afraid of."

"Moths?" A child dressed as a skeleton scoffed. "Those are cute. I'm afraid of snakes!"

Soon before the animatronic fox knew it, every child in the circle had started listing out their fears. He just sat there and listening to them all, looking at each child that mentioned their own phobias. This went on for a minute or two, and, even by then, the children were starting to run out on their lists.

It wasn't too long before a child turned to him and asked, "What are YOU afraid of, Foxy?"

Immediately, the group had hushed down as they turned to the animatronic, eager for an answer. Foxy looked to the ground in thought, heavily considering the question.

He replied, "Hunters scare 'Ol Foxy."

"Hunters?" A little girl in a fairy outfit asked, making a face. "Why would they scare you?"

Foxy remained silent for a few seconds, blinking as he stared at the little girl. The younger children had blank looks as they stared at the animatronic fox. Well?

"OOOOOOHHHH!" One of the older children's eyes widened in realization as they clamped a hand over their mouth. The younger kids exchanged confused looks at this.

"Wait, I don't get it," A little boy in a vampire suit commented. "What's a hunter?"

He then looked around the circle, clearly wanting an answer. None of the children gave him it, due to being confused as well or just not stating it for obvious reasons.

"I think it be the time we be movin' on, it be!" Foxy quickly commented as he grabbed the paper set to the side. Children glanced at each other, confused out of their minds. Older children cleared their throats, giving them uncertain looks.

"Today, we be doin' somethin' different then we be usually' doin'," Foxy commented as he observed the paper held in his metal hand. "Since 'Ol Foxy don't 'ave his stage to work in', we be doin' some stuff differently 'ere."

"Ooh! Like what?" A girl dressed in a bright, pink dress asked as she rocked back and forth. Foxy shrugged.

"Oh, ye' know...just a lil' game I'm sure of all ye' know by now."

"Hide and seek?" A young boy asked, sounding a bit excited.

"No," The pirate shook his head.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" A younger girl asked, giving Foxy an eager look. He chuckled.

"No..."

"The silent game?" An older child asked. Foxy gave them a look, in which they only shrugged at.

The fox shook his head. "No."

"Then what!?" A girl dressed as a unicorn asked in frustration. Foxy quickly threw something at her, in which she managed to catch at the last second. She gave the object a weird look.

"A potato?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion. Foxy laughed as some background music had suddenly came on.

"Yes, lass! Hot potato! Don't be tellin' 'Ol Foxy ye' don't know what that is?"

The girl screamed before chucking it at one of the older kids. They fumbled with it a bit before passing it to the person beside them, whom had flipped out as they threw it back at Foxy. The animatronic caught it real quick before carefully passing it to one of the younger kids. They caught on to the pattern as they threw it to whoever was nearest.

This pattern went on, and it had gotten a lot of children to laugh at for how unexpected it was. It was until the music stopped for when the laughter ceased.

They all turned to look at whoever had the potato, only to realize that one of the younger males had it clutched in their hands, giving everyone a confused look.

"What?" He asked.

"Ye' be out, lad!" Foxy commented. "Whoever be holdin' it when th' music be stoppin' gets 'em out! 'Tis why everyone was passin' it in a hurry."

"Ah, man," The child grunted as they stood, passing the potato back to Foxy. He chuckled before giving it to the child next to him. The music had suddenly started again, which resulted in everyone passing it to whoever was available as quickly as they could. This ended up being a rather enjoyable game, with everyone laughing with each toss given.

And, as the game progressed, Foxy felt himself smile.

He could get used to this.

\--

Halloween had passed the next day, which resulted in all the Halloween decorations and events being taken down in the pizzeria. The employees got out of their makeup(with some difficulties of some specific ones that actually had grew fond of it), and everyone was back to their regular jobs. The animatronics ran their concerts/shows back in the general category, and had stopped with the Halloween education. They went back to regular music, and it seemed that everything was back to normal.

The prizes now had the Chica rubber ducks added to them, once there were enough made. Chica was very pleased at knowing she was finally apart of the prizes, and had ended up hugging Freddy out of excitement when she first learned of it. More of the younger children had purchased the small item, but the chicken animatronic didn't care, due to being too happy of being apart of it in the first place.

But she became a bit disappointed once she learned that the other characters were getting their own rubber ducks. Even Foxy. This made her feel less special, but, with some encouraging words and praises from Bonnie, she ended up feeling better rather quickly. Because, hey, at least she was apart of the collection, right?

The haunted house the pizzeria carried ended up getting a few reviews from some adults. Most of them were positive, only counting 1 negative one from some fearless stranger. But this gave the employees to note to do it next year, and would put more effort into it so they'd be able to actually frighten the guests even more than they already did. They planned to use the entire Pirate Cove for it, which would make it bigger and better.

But, pfft, like anyone would get scared at a children's pizzeria.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Easter comes to the pizzeria, and the bots are back with their own planned game of an Egg Hunt.

It had been several months since Halloween had passed in the pizzeria. The animatronics' progress seemed to heavily increase with each of the characters bonding with the children more and more within each day. They seemed to go along with their likes and dislikes gathered but still did not have a preference when it came to children.

This was highly noted when the band played a song for handicapped child awhile ago. They still showed the same love they had for them as they did with the rest of the children. Their memory storage seemed to rapidly increase, too, since they could remember the child's name and when the exact date they had arrived at the pizzeria. This was heavily noted among the employees and they decided to ask the animatronics a few questions about the day before they had shut them down during the night.

This, of course, gave them interesting results. Freddy seemed to have the best memory on remembering what songs they had played during the day and of the children he talked to. Chica best remembered the children she had served pizza to and of their favorite toppings while Bonnie could describe the children's facial features when they were on stage. He seemed to note that they were happy and excited, which was very surprising among the employees because it showed that the animatronics were starting to store facial recognition within their memory.

Fazbear got notified of this and seemed hyped of the animatronics' progress. He hadn't been included much in the research but told his workers to continue monitoring them because he had something planned once they reached a certain point within their progress. None of the employees were told what his plan was but they continued to do what they were told; each of them individually weary because of how smart the animatronics were getting.

But, pizzeria-wise, everything remained as it was on a normal day. The prizes were still a hit, Pirate Foxy's Terrific Adventure was still highlighted on Mondays and Thursdays, and the profits continued to increasingly rise. Birthday parties still went on in the place but it seemed that everyone wanted to schedule a party every day; making the schedule a bit crammed as a waiting list had to be made.

Since of the rapid increase in profits, the pizzeria improved heavily. The characters had been painted on the walls by professional artists as more games were added in the Game Area. A few more prizes had been added such as shirts and Freddy-related board games. The pizzeria had closed down for a day since the employees had gotten together and bathed the animatronics. They also repaired and added a few improvements to them so that they were able to function better.

The animatronics' movements seemed a lot smoother as breakdowns had been decreased. They happened very infrequently and, even by then, it wouldn't take long for them to be repaired. Overall, it gave the children and families a greater visit when they came to the pizzeria. They got plenty of positive reviews and gained a lot of recognition within the town. Everyone started suggesting for Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria to be a franchise, but Fazbear had yet to respond to those requests.

The employees were relieved he hadn't responded. None of them could bare the idea of having duplicates of those machines at all.

\--

The next main activity the pizzeria had planned was for Easter. Once April hit, the building had Spring-themed decorations lined across the walls and rooms. The place was brighter than usual, but still remained crowded and busy like it normally was. They even placed a Spring deal among the menu; giving the customers a free pizza when they ordered 2.

The adults seemed to grow more fond of the place(probably because of the discounts), but they still were a bit weary when it came to the animatronics. It seemed that the animatronics' increase in intellect was obvious to them because the robots were able to interact with anyone regardless of age.

One of the employees recalled Chica having a conversation with an adult as she asked about their newborn child. The employee monitored their conversation, of course, but no negative notes were taken. All the animatronic seemed to do was ask for the child's name as she said "Hi" and left. It may have been a subtle thing but certainly left a mark to the employees on the animatronics' communication abilities.

Today had been no different. It was currently April 5th, better known as Easter Day. The pizzeria was currently hosting an Egg Hunt activity that would be taking place in the whole pizzeria. Since many families weren't there because of a holiday, not many children had been there that day. There were still plenty, oh yes, but it wasn't that crowded. At least not how it usually was on a regular day.

The animatronics were currently together on stage, including Foxy, as they prepared the children for the Egg Hunt that took place within an hour from now. It wasn't a huge crowd they were working with, so the room was mainly silent besides of their voices heard from the speakers.

Chica was currently handing out Easter baskets to the children as the other animatronics sat on stage; interacting with the ones who had already retrieved theirs. They were currently going over the rules like they had been for the past half hour.

"Has there been anything we haven't been over?" Freddy asked as he looked at the audience before him, who stared at him attentively. Some of the children raised their hands. He called on one in the back.

"What if you run into an egg with someone else at the same time?" They asked.

"Easy," Freddy responded. "You play rock, paper, scissors. Whoever wins get the egg. If it's a tie, you play again until someone wins. If there are three or more of you, all of you play until you get a winner."

One child raised their hand in the front. Bonnie called on them.

"How long is the hunt?"

"There are over 100 eggs scattered in the building," Bonnie responded. "So it'll take awhile for it to be over. It'll go on for about an hour because some other children may come in late."

The employees that were sitting to the side took some notes. The children didn't mind them as they continued to raise their hands.

"Yes, lad?" Foxy asked as he called one in the middle. They cleared their throat.

"What is the prize if we collect the most eggs?"

"If ye' 'appen to be th' winner o' th' hunt when it's over, ye'll be gettin' any prize from th' prize stand upon yer' wish," Foxy responded as he adjusted himself on the stage. "Ye'll also get a free pizza n' 100 tokens."

The children's eyes widened in excitement. Immediately, more hands were raised.

One hand was currently flapping in the air as the child stood on their feet. Chica called on them in order to get them to settle down.

"What were the 'special' eggs that you were talking about earlier?" She asked as she tilted her head in curiosity.

"I'm glad you remember that, Casey!" Chica exclaimed as she looked at the other animatronics. "Out of the 100, there are only 20 'special' eggs. These eggs have us painted on them! There are 5 copies of each of us individually that you can find! These eggs are worth more points."

The children started to squirm in their spots; obviously excited for the hunt to begin. Another child raised their hand in the front as Freddy called on them.

"Do we get to keep the eggs?" They asked. Freddy chuckled.

"Of course you do! We also recommend that you take a picture with your parents holding your eggs at the end of the hunt just so you can keep the memories."

One child raised their hand in the back. Foxy called on them.

"How many points is a regular egg worth?"

"A regular egg is worth 5 points," Foxy responded as he leaned a bit forwards. "Th' special eggs are worth 20. We be countin' your points at th' end o' th' hunt n' whoever has th' most wins."

Another child raised their hand. Bonnie called on them.

"How many winners are there?"

"Three," Bonnie responded. "There's first place, second place, and third place. So only 3 of you guys will be winners today."

Chica called on one of the children in the back. They asked, "So only the winners get a prize?"

"Of course not," Chica responded as she flattened her bib. "Everyone will be getting a goody bag for participating and trying! You even get to keep the eggs. So, technically, everyone is a winner!"

The children smiled at this. The animatronics noticed that all the hands went down.

"Just remember, guys," Freddy said as he stood; helping Chica up beside him. "Be nice and don't push or hurt anyone else. I guarantee that all of you will have at least 1 egg by the end of the hunt. And if you don't, we'll give you one!"

The children's smiles went wider as they all squirmed in their spots; even more excited for the hunt to begin. Foxy looked at the employees to the side.

"How long 'til it starts?"

"5 minutes," One of the employees responded; not glancing up from their notes to look at him. Foxy smiled as he looked back at the audience.

"That means things are just 'bout ready! Everyone 'ave a basket?"

All the children nodded their heads as they held theirs in the air. He smiled.

"Great! Does anyone 'ave anymore questions before we begin?"

The children glanced at each other as they looked for someone to raise their hand. After a few seconds of waiting, the animatronics glanced at each other.

"Everyone knows the rules, right?" Freddy asked as he looked at them.

"Right," They responded in unison.

"Okay, get ready..."

The children all turned around as they naturally made a line next to each other. The employees took note of this.

"Get set..."

The children squirmed in their spots; looking at the person next to them in excitement.

Freddy exclaimed, "GO!"

With that, the children then immediately started running to the rest of the pizzeria as they all searched for eggs. The animatronics blinked in surprise.

"They really were excited, weren't they?" Freddy asked as he observed them; watching as children rapidly picked up eggs within their sight as they darted into the other rooms. The employees got out of their seats as they disappeared into another room; leaving the animatronics alone on stage.

The robots continued to watch the children search in the rest of the building. Chica blinked in surprise.

"Wow, look at them go!"

Foxy watched as children's figures flashed in one room then headed to another. He blinked.

"They're almost movin' as fast as me..."

"You do move fast," Bonnie commented as he glanced at him. "Speaking of which, why aren't you off running with them now?"

"We can't help 'em, remember?" Foxy asked as he gave him a look. Bonnie nodded

"Oh, I know. I just figured you'd be running around for no pointless reason like how you always do."

"Shut it," Foxy snapped. "And ye' be speakin' for yerself! I watch ye' tune yer' fake guitar. It's not foolin' anyone, ye' know!"

"Guys, guys," Freddy interrupted as he stepped between them. "Be on your best behavior today, okay?"

He then motioned up towards the ceiling; getting them all to look. A camera was placed in the corner and was pointed towards them. They immediately looked back at each other.

"Besides," He said as he looked back at them. "Some of these children are on their break and they chose to came here today rather than spend the day at home with their families. We should be grateful."

"I guess you're right," Bonnie huffed as he turned back to watch at the children. "But it just gets...tiring, y'know?"

"I know it does," Freddy said as he pat him on the back. "But we're not doing this for ourselves. We're doing it for the children. That's what we're programmed for, remember?"

"Yeah...." Bonnie said as his purple eyes traveled to the floor. Freddy removed his hand as he watched the children search under the tables across from them.

"I think it's fun," Chica said in an uplifting tone. "I mean, look at their smiles! They're having such a great time! Shouldn't we as well?"

"Yer' absolutely right, lass," Foxy said as he smiled, turning to her. "If we're goin' to be doin' this fer' awhile, we better make th' most o' it n' 'ave fun!"

"Glad to see you guys are gaining more confidence," Freddy said as he crossed his metal arms; watching the children searching under the seats. The animatronics continued to watch for awhile before a child ran up to the stage.

"Chica, Chica! I found a special egg with you on it!" They exclaimed as they bounced up and down excitedly; holding the egg up so she can see.

"Good job!" She exclaimed as she gave him a thumbs up. "See if you could find another one!"

The child nodded before running off into Pirate Cove. Freddy turned to Foxy.

"Say, why did they put you in here? You'd be fine standing in Pirate Cove for an hour, right?"

"Beats me," The fox shrugged. Freddy shook it off as he continued to watch as the other animatronics joined him.

\--

About an hour later, an announcement came out from the sneakers as it stated that the hunt was now over. Children started to pile into the room the animatronics were in as they sat in front of the stage with their baskets beside them. All of them looked as if they were pleased with themselves; some having their baskets full as others were halfway.

Needless to say, they all looked as if they had fun.

One of the employees came out from the back room and started to go through the rooms; searching for any child that was still hunting. He only came back with one that took a seat in the back and had stood beside the stage. Freddy clasped his metal hands together.

"Did everyone have a fun time?"

All the children cheered as they nodded. The animatronics smiled at each other.

"Great to hear," Freddy said as he looked around. "And all you did a wonderful job! Is there anyone who did not get an egg whatsoever during the hunt?"

A couple of children raised their hands; who looked a bit saddened at the fact that they didn't. Freddy gave them a smile.

"Come on up, guys!"

The children then complied as they stood and had walked in front of the stage. Foxy sat down as he held a couple of eggs; signaling for them to come over.

When they did, Foxy dunked about 5 eggs into each of their baskets and gave them a few chocolate coins while he was at it. The children thanked him before returning to their spots; clearly happy that they had received something.

Foxy then stood as he put the eggs away. Freddy looked around in the crowd.

"Anyone else?"

Silence returned to him as no one had raised their hands. He smiled.

"Great! Now, I'm going to need all of you to count your eggs. Remember, a regular egg is worth 5 points while a special egg is worth 20. Once you have your total, write it down as well as your first and last name on the piece of paper that is going to be passed around. We will be checking the 3 with the highest number, so don't give yourself more than you already have, alright?"

The children nodded as they got the eggs out from their baskets and had started counting. Some of the younger children had to go up to the stage and ask for theirs to be counted, in which the employees took care of and had written their name and total. The animatronics watched; eager to know which one of the children would win.

The employees waited a couple of minutes before passing around the paper in the crowd. The children wrote their total points and of their name on it before passing it to the next person who was done. Before any of them knew it, they all had naturally worked together until the paper had been filled. A child in the back ran up to an employee to give them the paper once they were finished.

"Did anyone not write their total?" Freddy asked as he looked around. After seeing no one raising their hand for a couple of seconds, the bear smiled.

"Great! We'll now be checking the list and will call out the winners."

He then turned to the employees, who nodded as they went down in the list. After a few minutes of checking, an employee called out: "Amelia Deliheart, Emily Spear, and Jacob Clark."

The children looked around, only to have 3 children stand up and walk over to them with their baskets. The employees then checked each of theirs individually and had turned back to Freddy, giving him a nod.

"Well, congratulations, you guys!" Freddy said as he gave them a smile. "You're our winners! Can everyone give them an applause?"

The children then cheered as they all clapped; clearly happy for the winners. The three looked a bit flustered but still excited to get their prizes. Freddy gave a nod to Foxy, who rolled his eyes as he collected three cups of tokens. He then walked over to the children and each gave them a cup, which had a coupon inside giving them the free pizza.

"Now all three of ye' can head over to th' prize stand and choose which one ye' want for free. Keep in mind ye' only 'ave one, so choose wisely, mates!"

The children then nodded as they all ran over to the prize stand. Foxy returned back to the stage as Freddy faced the rest of the children.

"We'll now be giving you guys goody bags like we promised! Get into a straight line and you'll get yours, alright?"

The children nodded as they immediately lined up in front of the stage. Foxy was the one to hand the goody bags out; giving each child one as they all left to run off and play games or eat pizza. It took awhile until he reached the last child, whom had immediately looked into the bag upon receiving it.

The child pulled out a chocolate bunny with widened eyes as he found more treats inside of the bag. He also pulled out a plastic egg that had a coupon inside of it as well as a miniature piece of chocolate.

He then hugged Foxy; catching the animatronics a bit off guard as he leaned backwards on the stage upon impact.

"Thank you!"

The fox chuckled as he patted him on the back. "Anytime, lad."

The child smiled before running off to the tables. The animatronics watched his figure disappear in silence.

"We did really good t'day," Foxy said with a smile as he immediately stood; turning on his metal heel to look at the others. Freddy smiled as he looked at him.

"We really did, didn't we?"


	7. Ending

Out of all of the emotions the animatronics can express, surprise was a rarity of them. At this point, the guards and mechanics that once monitored the robots suddenly decided to give up. From their notes, from their work, and from all the hard work they had put into their study. In their opinion, there was no point on trying to fix what they saw as possibly broken. Fazbear's plan of having perfect, roaming animatronics came to a bust. They had done so well growing as characters, but not as machines. Well, at least _one_ didn't. 

Foxy knew this now.

Ever since Day 1 had the Pirate got suspicious. He knew of the cameras, the hostile attitudes from the families, and the indifferent feelings he got from the guards, mechanics, and employees. He had been so busy bonding and working with the children around him that he had forgotten he was being watched. 

He still kept with his shows. Working with Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica was an absolute delight. Pirate's Cove had grown so much, and the restaurant had been filled almost every weekend with children from all over town. The food once reached its finest quality, and the fox _actually_ got some attention from the families. He might say that he earned some trust from the parents. His adventures of pirating and the many games he'd play with those kids would never leave his mind. 

Not even now. The fox was currently sitting on his stage in the depths of Pirate Cove. His legs were dangling off the edge of the wood and he was faced with a completely dark room. The paint that had once decorated the walls were now smudged and dirty. The treasure box he once had filled with prizes for the lads and lassies was now empty. The trash left from his last day as an active member of the game still remain there. 

It was dark, and it was broken. He sort of related to it, really. He knew he felt emotions, and right now he was feeling.... _alone_.

His yellow eyes darted up from the light and spotted a temporary opening through the many boards that had been bolted on the entrance to Pirate's Cove. It was a gleam of light that peeked through and reached his head. The fox immediately sprang from the stage and landed successfully a few yards away. He quickly ran up to the opening and peeked his good eye through it. The sight was breathtaking, if he had any to spare. 

Past the rusty boards was a sight filled with happiness and color. He heard various children screaming and laughing. Little toddlers were running around the game area, and he spotted some families and teens sitting at the tables indulging themselves with pizza. Everything seemed so vivid....especially the stage that sat right in the middle of all this commotion. Foxy spotted the sight of Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica standing and smiling, waving at the families down below. 

Foxy rubbed his muzzle with a metal finger. "This ain't foolin' 'Ol Foxy..." 

Why weren't they roaming? They pivoted, but did not move from their spots. It almost seemed like they were mounted onto the boards below them....and the instruments looked like they were glued in their hands. Foxy recognized the forced smiles they wore. The stiff movements of their bodies, yet received excited cheers from the children down below...It was like the kids themselves were oblivious. 

"'S THAT what they were thinkin'?" The fox scoffed. "Stickin' 'em 'ere n' sayin' ' _tis a show!'_?" 

The leaned down and tried to get a better view. For a moment, he saw one of the children start to head in his direction. The animatronic stiffened when they came closer. It was a young, dark-colored girl with pigtails. She had a small soda in her hand and looked up at the sign before her. When her eyes traveled over the boards(and over Foxy's eyes), she frowned and tilted her head.

"Mommy," She suddenly called. "Why is this area closed?" 

"Oh, dear." A tall blonde suddenly came next to her. She eyed the exterior herself. Once her eyes met with Foxy's, the Pirate immediately concealed himself back in the darkness. He pressed the back of his metal body against the boards and waited there quietly. 

"I'm not sure," The woman soon responded. "I don't even remember what was back there. Come on, sweetie. Daddy's waiting for us at the table." 

Nearly every bit of Foxy was crushed as he listened to their footsteps disappear. He turned and tried to peek through the opening again, but found that it was dark once more. He released some air and quietly went back into the room. He started running around and glancing back at the old food that sat on the table. He tried to picture the vivid images back when Pirate's Cove was still open....the children that came in when things were silent, and the many games he used to play with them. 

He started to go around and reminisce. He stared at the spot on the carpet where he remembered talking to Mike with. He looked over at the stage and cringed when images of his stories came to mind. The sight that affected him the worse were the drawings that were hung right next to his stage. The one that Mary drew of him and her at the jungle...the few that were drawn by Mike's sister....and the many others that toddlers drew for him. The sight crushed him.

The fox plopped down on the ground and stared at the walls silently. There was a very faint smell - though he could barely catch it. The camera in the corner of the room was off. They knew he couldn't leave no matter how hard he tried. The fox wasn't quite sure why they left him on, anyway. It was almost as if they wanted him to suffer...

He suddenly started to rock himself back and forth gently. The modifications added to him enabled him to move and curve like this so freely. At some point in his robotic life had he only been about parts and improvements. That's all the adults looked for in him, anyway. But the _children_...It was the children who wanted to know more about him. His stories, what he liked and disliked, how he felt about the pizza, and even of his own fears. 

The children were pure. It was the adults whom were tainted. 

Foxy's eyes went down to the floor. He decreased his volume to mutter. "If I had 'nother day..." 

What would he do? He would go and tell every child there an enticing story - and encourage them to go to Pirate's Cove. He'd spend every moment asking the children how they felt and giving them prizes just because. He would speak of his adventures in detail and never let anything distract him from entertaining the kids. He'd be careful of his movement and try not to scare the little ones like he had done so long ago. 

They labelled him as a "monster", but he was far from it. Foxy loved the children. They loved him. He was no more different than Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica...except he was more intelligent. Quicker, interesting, and talkative....but he was self-aware. Which ultimately earned him the closing of Pirate's Cove entirely. If only he had been more careful. None of this would have ever happened. 

"'S not my fault," He spoke to himself. "Foxy jus'...catches onta' things quicker. Not like Freddy can..." 

The fox turned his head to look at the boards that were on the entrance. What had his friends done for him, anyway? The most he got was a sympathetic message from Bonnie, but Freddy could have cared less. Chica had more important things to do. It seemed like he had always been alone; isolated in this room rather than included with them onstage and where everyone could see. He was their friend, no doubt about that...but to an extent. 

"Traitors," He teased. "Th' kids wouldn't leave 'Ol Foxy...Or would they...?" 

The depressive thoughts suddenly swarmed his mind again. He wasn't used to thinking like this so abnormally. They would come every now and then, but now it seemed that they haunted him every day. The images of the children staring at a closed Pirate's Cove...and forgetting about him entirely. Like that little girl a few minutes ago. 

Foxy got up from his spot on the floor and jumped onto the stage. His quick movements were concerning to outsiders, but no one could see or hear him in the darkness. He could do everything he was capable of now, but to impress no one. That, itself, made everything he did here rather useless. What was the point of Foxy without his crew? 

He reached out for the papers on the wall. They ripped off the staples in their corners. Foxy continued gathering them until he had a handful of fanart. He sat there and on the stage and started to glance through his new collection. All of them had Foxy in it, one way or the other. Seeing so gave him a rather warm feeling down in his circuits. 

Eventually, he came across the same drawing he had seen years ago. One that nearly crumbled in his hand. It was so fragile....like the memory of it. It was the picture of him and Mary in that fateful jungle. The same day he broke down and started attention to improving himself in the pizzeria. This drawing had done more than anyone could ever think. 

Foxy held it close to his chest and suddenly laid down on the floor. He curled up so he now laid in a fetal position. In his hands clutched the same pieces of paper, and it didn't look like he'd let go of it anytime soon. The darkness that circled him brought a cold feeling that climbed his limbs. His eyes absorbed all the papers before he started to mutter to himself. 

"Me favorite memories..." 

He took a final look through them all before he let go of them. They all fell down onto the ground just below the stage. He didn't move from his position, because something finally came into his mind. All these years...All the improvements they gave to him, all of those stories and shows, and especially all the times he spent with those kids...

They would all remain a memory. And one he was going to hold closest to his heart.


End file.
